LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq regrets the government has backtracked on the issue of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) under pressure from the US.

In a statement issued here on Monday, he said the government, especially Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, had taken a clear stance on NGOs but retreated when pressed by the US.

He said the minister had banned American NGO Save the Children for its alleged anti-state and suspicious activities besides attempting to change the country’s culture and way of life. However, the government withdrew its decision on a single US rebuke, he lamented.

Siraj said the NGOs sincerely working for the welfare of people and rendering commendable services in the fields of education and health were welcome. But certain bodies working under the garb of NGOs were involved in anti-state activities and giving shelter to enemy agents and should not be allowed to function, he alleged.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2015

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