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Banned organisations not allowed to help
The government Friday said it will clamp down on charities linked to militants trying to exploit flood victims.
An Afghan refugee riding on his donkey cart as he passes by the flood devastated area of Azakhel Camp near Nowshera. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday said it will clamp down on charities linked to militants trying to exploit anger among flood victims, amid fears that their involvement in the relief effort would undermine the fight against groups like the Taliban.
While the government, overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster, has struggled to reach aid to millions of people, banned outfits with much smaller resources have moved in swiftly to fill the vacuum.
“The banned organisations are not allowed to visit flood-hit areas,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told Reuters. “We will arrest members of banned organisations collecting funds and will try them under the Anti-Terrorism Act.”
President Asif Ali Zardari and a senior US senator warned on Thursday that militants were trying to promote their cause during the floods, similar to what happened after the earthquake of 2005 in Kashmir.
Eight million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
The United States led a stream of pledges of more funds for Pakistan during a special meeting of the UN General Assembly on Thursday. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised a further $60 million, bringing to more than $150 million the contribution Washington would make towards emergency flood relief.
US Senator John Kerry, who visited flood-hit areas with President Zardari on Thursday , said action must be taken to prevent anyone from exploiting frustrations.
“We need to address that rapidly to avoid their (Pakistani’s) impatience boiling over, and people exploiting that impatience and I think it’s important for all of us to understand that challenge,” Kerry said, in a clear reference to the Taliban. “We also share security concerns.”
The United States needs a stable Pakistan, which it sees as the most important ally in the war against militancy, especially in neighbouring Afghanistan, where a Taliban insurgency is raging.
In a sign of growing concerns over the ramifications of the floods, Kerry said $200 million from the $7.5 billion US aid package for Pakistan over five years, which he co-authored, would be diverted to the relief effort.
Reader Comments (8)
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Organizations are made up of people. Organizations can be banned but people cannot be. People can only be reformed. We need a miracle.Recommend
The government has made the right decision not to allow the banned outfits to collect donations or help the flood victims.
Members of the banned outfits got a chance to win the hearts and minds of the people by helping them out but in this way they will also gain support of the local people who may be helped by the members of banned outfits.
On the other hand there is a possibility that members of the banned outfits collect donations from the well to do people and used the donation money in suicide attacks in the country.
This is on record the many members of the banned outfits looted the banks and then use the looted money in terrorists activities in the county.
Members of banned outfits should be arrested forthwith whenever and wherever they are seen collecting money or helping out the flood victims.
There should be no soft corner for the members of banned outfits who have badly damaged the image of Islam and Pakistan.Recommend
The nations who can’t differentiate between friends & foes are fated to be doomed. Unfortunately we are one of those nations. Even this giant catastrophe has failed to open our eyes. May ALLAH help those who are sincere & destroy the imposters and liers. AMEENRecommend
Watch the eye-opening documentary “THE REVIVAL” & “THE REVIVAL V2″ by Khorasan Productions on YOUTUBE.Recommend
I understand the logic behind the decision but the need is so huge and urgent that i feel really bad! People are drowning and we are worried about ‘what if’ situations!Recommend
Ihave dominant seculartendencies and am in no way a Taleban supporter. I do not wish them to exploit the situation to their end. At the same time, if I imagine myself to be in place of the direct affectees of the flood, and then think about the statements coming from the Government functionaries, I would find such statements detestible to say the least. Rehman Malik or his interior ministry is struggling with the writ of the Government in major metropolis, let alone talk about the far-flung areas of KP, Balochistan, Punjab or even Sindh.The army of this country seems dwarfed by the magnitude of the calamity and this gentleman is telling us that people might be arrested. Such statement will make negligible impact on the ability of the banned organizations, but will increase the appeal of such organizations once they finally deliver in affected areas. This article also concedes their efectiveness.Recommend
i think the decision is right as the banned outfits are not our friend. The big crisis facing by the county is terrorism and we have to fight against them as we can. The natural disaster is not threat for our county as well as for the world but these extremists are not even their own friends. they are just mad having no knowledge about humanity and also religion.Recommend
Islamic NGOs are not tolerable, labeling them terrorist by liars of west wont make them stop their mission. I think government needs to worry about looming bankruptcy instead of being mouthpiece to Council on Foreign Relations.Recommend