It is difficult to understand the logic behind declaring the NGOs’ development work as un-Islamic, except that the clerics want to preserve their age-old customs, which often hinder progress, deny people their basic rights, have little to do with religion and only help in maintaining the supremacy of obscurantist forces. The district’s clergy seems to hold the belief that ultraconservative elements in many Muslim societies share i.e., a strong conviction that NGOs work on a Western agenda and that any work geared towards breaking the shackles of outdated customs is a threat to their version of faith and their hegemony over Muslim populations.
This move will cause unemployment among the local youth and deprive the district of development, which makes it imperative upon Kohistan’s authorities to provide NGOs with foolproof security that enables them to restart their work. The local clergy must be reined in, too, as it has no right to stop NGOs from operating in the district. There is a need to educate people about the work that NGOs are involved in, as a majority of them have done a lot for welfare work all over Pakistan and it is essential that the people of Kohistan, and elsewhere, are made aware of their efforts.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2012.
COMMENTS (3)
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Shallow editorial. Need to go much more in detail before passing statements like "except that the clerics want to preserve their age-old customs"
Pakistan need to think through this role of NGOs. Most Western NGOs do not simply provide a service they actively work to push western values in the society apart from working hand in glove with Western governments.
Law need to be strengthened and those who do not conform need to be expelled. This however in democracy or dictatorship is not possible we need Islamic system.
First, let me clarify: I work for an NGO. However, I agree to some degree with the criticism against NGOs. I feel NGOs as in this case do jump the gun and make an undue amount of noise at times. I think their incentives are distorted: to get their funding they need to demonstrate that there are great problems. So there is a tendency to go overboard and exaggerate and maybe even fabricate in some cases.
Nice editorial -- but the core issue is that Pakistan doesn't really control this territory so even if the govt objected it can't do much about it.