Activists concerned over shrinking space for INGOs

Farhatullah Babar says the matter regarding working with INGOs should have been brought before parliament

ISLAMABAD: After the government gave an ultimatum to another group of non-governmental organisations to leave the country, activists from various civil society organisations on Wednesday expressed their concern over the shrinking space for organisations working on human rights, democracy and social justice in the country.

Representatives from the Pakistan Civil Society Forum (PCSF) and other civil society organizations in a news conference on Wednesday termed the recent decision by the government to disallow the functioning of several International non-governmental organisation (NGOs) an attempt to control their voices and their abilities to access resources for promotion of people’s socio-economic and political rights.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the matter regarding working with INGOs should have been brought before parliament. He vowed to raise the issue in the upper house of Parliament.

Former Senator Afrasiab Khattak was of the view that by taking such decisions, the policymakers were pushing Pakistan towards further global isolation.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2017.