International aid groups have warned Pakistan that hundreds and thousands of victims of violence and natural disasters in the country might stop receiving life-saving assistance, as a result of their move.
Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, which represents scores of foreign aid groups says, “Their work directly benefits about 29 million people in Pakistan. Foreign aid groups contributed some $285 million in funding for development and emergency relief in 2016 and employ over 5,000 local staff.”
According to officials, “The federal government has ordered 21 foreign-aid groups to wrap up their activities and prepare to leave after they failed to re-register under tough regulations introduced two years ago. Open Society Foundations, the charity founded by George Soros, and the South Africa-based Action Aid were among the groups informed of the decision this week, without providing a complete list.”
The international non-governmental organisations (INGO) have been given two months to close their offices and vacate the country.
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders was forced to close its last remaining facility in the tribal region along the Afghan border. The doctors’ group warned that many victims of violence in the region would go without medical treatment as a result of the move.
The Open Society Foundations first started working in Pakistan in 2005, providing $3 million of emergency relief for victims of a devastating earthquake. It provided another $6mn in emergency funds after severe flooding in 2010.
