ISLAMABAD: Licences of over 30 per cent of local NGOs registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) have been cancelled over the past three months for their failure to comply with regulations.

“The law requires the NGOs to get their licences renewed after every five years and all registered NGOs were directed to get their documents revalidated by Feb 16 this year,” an SECP official said.

The licences of 108 NGOs were cancelled in April for their failure to comply with corporate laws, he said. After further scrutiny, the licences of another 100 NGOs were revoked.

Around 650 local non-governmental organisations have been registered with the SECP and 423 of them completed five years of existence by Jan 1, 2015.

Though the action against the NGOs was initiated after the National Action Plan to counter terrorism was enforced in December 2014, officials deny any link with the plan.

“Local NGOs are registered under section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984 and it is being checked whether they are complying with the law or not,” the SECP spokesperson said, rejecting the perception that the action had been taken because of security concerns.

A majority of the NGOs, whose licences have been cancelled, had failed to file annual returns and accounts and to apply for renewal of their licences within the specified time.

Apart from the SECP, local NGOs can also be registered with several other agencies, including the department of cooperatives at the deputy commissioner’s office and provincial governments.

But restrictions imposed for non-compliance of regulations by the DC office and provincial governments are negligible in comparison with the recent drive launched by the SECP.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2015

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