August 30, 2006	Wednesday	Sha'aban 5, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: The government will soon table a bill in the National Assembly for registration and effective monitoring of non-governmental organisations, official sources told Dawn.

The proposed draft law is in final stages and discussions are underway with Economic Affairs Division (EAD) to get a green signal. International donations come through EAD, hence, it has an important role in this regard, they said.

Though every new government makes commitment in this regard, none takes concrete steps to streamline the working of NGOs that largely operate on their own after securing registration under a plethora of acts available for the purposes.

At present, there are a number of acts and ordinances under which an NGO can get registered with the federal or provincial governments. These are Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies Ordinance, 1961; the Societies Registration Act, 1860; the Trust Act, 1882; the Charitable Endowment Act, 1890; and Companies Ordinance Act, 1984.

Every NGO is supposed to get permission from the government before accepting donations from national or international donors. However, due to lack of enforcement mechanism and unclear registration procedures, it is never followed. Back in 1992, an effort was made, but due to a stand off between representatives of NGOs and the government, the issue remained in a limbo. Again an ordinance, “Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) Ordinance 2002”, was proposed for the regularisation of this sector, but due to serious differences between NGOs and government, no progress could be made.