19 INGOs allowed to operate in Pakistan

Interior ministry to grant formal approval within a week

ISLAMABAD: A meeting chaired by the country’s top security czar has decided to allow 19 international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) to operate in Pakistan. Formal approval is expected to be granted within a week by the interior ministry’s INGO Committee.

Among the attendees of the meeting were the interior secretary, the national coordinator for the National Counterterrorism Authority (Nacta) and senior officials of the interior ministry.



The meeting discussed a host of issues — including deliberations made during the recent Joint Readmission Committee meeting in Brussels, present status of the exit control list (ECL), progress made on registration of INGOs, monitoring capacity of private security companies, and security arrangements put in place for educational institutions and media houses.

Expressing satisfaction over the outcome of the Brussels meeting, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan observed that the European Union’s understanding of Pakistan’s legitimate concerns and the consensus achieved during the meeting would create a win-win situation that would not only help in further strengthening mutual cooperation in this area, but would also provide momentum to the efforts aimed at addressing the issue of illegal immigrants and human trafficking, besides addressing serious human rights concerns of Pakistani immigrants.

Regarding the current status of the ECL, the meeting was informed that after due deliberations and formulation of a new standard operating procedure (SOP) by the interior ministry, the number of people on the ECL had been reduced from more than 14,000 to around 3,000. Nisar termed it a ‘great achievement’ in streamlining a system ‘grossly misused’ in the past.



The meeting also discussed formulating a new SOP regarding private security companies. The minister ordered that in the first phase 196 security companies of the federal capital be given notices to provide their complete details — including number of employees, offices and training mechanisms — to the interior ministry within a week, failing which their permit to operate could be cancelled.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2016.