ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to give international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) working in the country three months to get themselves re-registered under the new regime of regulations, which an inter-ministerial committee is developing.

A meeting presided over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also decided on Tuesday to allow all such INGOs to carry on their operations for the next six months, according to the PM’s spokesperson.

In addition, PM’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi told Dawn that a grace period of six months had been extended to all INGOs operating in the country, but they would necessarily have to get themselves re-registered with the government to continue working.

After discussions, “the meeting decided that all INGOs presently working in Pakistan will continue to function for a period of six months within specified areas of operation allowed by the concerned authorities.” It was further decided, the official release said, that in order “to streamline [their] functioning ... all INGOs will complete the process of their fresh registration with the government of Pakistan within three months”.

The meeting has put to rest – at least for the time-being – the uncertainty that plagued INGOs last week, after the government sealed the offices of Save the Children (StC) in Islamabad and ordered all expatriate employees to leave the country within 15 days.

Although a second notification, issued by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD), held in abeyance the first official memorandum whereby StC had been asked to close down its operations, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had insisted on Monday that the government hadn’t change its mind.

Sources privy to the meeting held on Tuesday, which took place at the PM’s Office, told Dawn that the interior minister once again made a forceful argument against NGOs working outside their mandate.

However, StC’s offices in Islamabad have not yet been unsealed. According to the ICT administration, it has yet to receive fresh orders related to the INGO.

Talking to Dawn, StC spokesperson Saeed Minhas said the organisation welcomed the PM’s decision asking INGOs to get themselves registered again as well as allowing them to continue their work for six months. Elaborating on the government’s initiatives regarding the development sector, Mr Fatemi said, “We only want to provide a conducive working environment to the NGO sector because, by and large, they are doing a great job in the country.”

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2015

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