xInternational non-governmental organisations (INGO) have been working in Pakistan for almost as long as the state has been in existence. Many of them operate globally and they are recognised and generally respected for the work they do. Every state has a right to regulate the operations of non-governmental entities that it allows to operate within its borders and Pakistan is no exception to that, and thus there is little surprise that after much to and fro, the government has announced that it has developed a policy framework for INGO regulation. Under the new operating procedure outlined by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, all INGOs have been given a 60 day period in which they are supposed to register online, after which a committee will be formed that will scrutinise the applications within a further 60 days and then decide the list of approved INGOs. After the approval, the government and the INGO will need to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which would clearly include the limitations on the domain and functioning of the INGOs and will leave them open to financial audits performed by the state to keep track of their funding and expenditure. Limitations have also been placed on INGOs engaging with local NGOs or raising money using local fund raisers. The statement from the interior minister also warned unequivocally that any violations of the MoU and any deviance from the stated area of operations will result in an immediate cancellation of the registration. Consider that the interior minister has now stipulated that INGOs will not indulge in money laundering, terror financing, weapons smuggling, anti-state activities or maintain links with proscribed organisations. If any of that has indeed been a problem in the past, it would be a very serious violation. The right course of action would be to publicly proceed against such organisations for violating the law and bring it to the attention of the global community of INGOs. But there has been no evidence provided by the government of any such activity. Instead, there have been allusions to INGOs operating outside their official remit and in areas that are allegedly sensitive. In the real world, that is often code for working with vulnerable communities in areas that are affected by the kind of militancy and violence that the state considers a challenge. The problem is that areas hit by violence and militancy are often precisely the type of places where vulnerable populations reside — and that is often the very purpose of INGOs: to reach people that the state is unable to help or unwilling to prioritise assistance towards. Ultimately, for true security in a multidimensional sense, there must be a balance between people-centric security and a militarised version of it. Not only do INGOs often provide valuable assistance to the most vulnerable people, they also act as a bridge to the international community. Pakistan needs to engage with the outside world rather than cut itself off from it. In some cases, the new regulations turn on its head the real security dilemma: it is INGOs and their international staff that are often at threat from extremist elements in society here.
pk.shafaqna.com
