The Upper House of Parliament on Monday witnessed a heated debate on registration of national and international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) with some lawmakers terming it discouraging while others pressing for tightening the noose around them. The senators were speaking on a motion moved by Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar regarding new regulations being proposed for national and international NGOs.
Initiating debate on his motion, Senator Babar said that registration of NGOs has recently been transferred from Economic Affairs Division (EAD) to the Interior ministry, adding interior minister has also stated that laws of registration of NGOs are vague and that a new single law is being drawn up.
Babar called upon the government to come out clean on the proposed legislation about the NGOs both national and international and proposed setting up a committee comprising representatives also of the Foreign Office, the Economic Affairs Division, members of parliament and civil society organisations to thrash out the contours of the proposed law in a transparent manner instead of leaving the matter entirely to the police and interior ministry.
He said that media reports say that this decision is based on the report of Tariq Fatemi and asked that the Fatemi report be made public, adding the government is happy with NGOs that relieve the state of responsibility to build schools and hospitals. It has bent over backwards to accommodate them by allowing the banned outfits to reappear under different names.
But civil society actors do not merely disburse charity, he added, they are also working for empowering youth, women and minorities, promoting the rule of law, corruption, and any form of discrimination. "They are necessary for protecting people's interest against state interference," he added. They are necessary because more participation of citizens means more democracy more engagement, more transparency, more openness and more accountability, he said, adding by reducing the space for the civil society organisations we are rejecting people's participation.
The idea of placing national INGOs under the control of interior ministry, he added, is preposterous. "In no way, the EAD or the Foreign Office should be excluded from decision-making process," he said.
Terming the move as not very encouraging for the country, Senator Taj Haider of PPP said that it is like sinking with one's eyes closed. "There is no need of any enemy as we, ourselves are enough. The INGOs are working are playing role of a bridge for us with outside world, and it's in no way acceptable to discourage the NGOs," he added.
Senator Murtaza Javed Ababsi of ruling Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PML-N) said that there are some good NGOs which are working a wonderful job, but declaring all the NGOs would not be unfair.
The sole purpose to register the NGOs, he added, is to keep a check on the, as what these organisations are doing. "It's the responsibility of the government to know from where they get all these funding and where and how this money is spent," he added.
Senator Usman Khan Kakar of Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) lambasted the government, saying neither the government is ready to work for uplift of the backward provinces such Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and no by banning the putting a ban on NGOs, it has further pushed the smaller provinces against the wall.
"They (NGOs) are being accused of spying for some foreign countries, but they are allowed to operate in Islamabad, if they are spying, why you are hesitant to kick them out," he questioned.
He said that all NGOs and donor agencies must pay attention towards the smaller provinces where their services are needed, adding the NGOs should identify the areas where there services are needed and not the government. "If the government had been so competent where it should work, the smaller provinces would have been as developed as any other city," he added.
Senator Hafiz Hamdullah of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) fully endorsed the government decision to crackdown on NGOs, saying it was Save the Children, an international NGO, which was shut down from operating in Pakistan for a couple of days last year, was named in the Abbottabad Commission that it was spying to track down Osama bin Laden.
If this is what NGOs will start doing under the guise of doing charity work, they should be thrown out of the country. What a charity organisation has to do with tracking down Osama bin Laden. It's not a banana republic and the government should keep a vigilant eye on these NGOs," he maintained.
Winding up debate, state minister for interior Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman said a Foreign Contributions Law is being formulated to keep a check on foreign funding of different entities.
He said no INGO has been banned from working and there is only a registration process underway to regulate them, adding there were numerous NGOs which were not registered. "It had huge impact in improving the law and orders situation in restive Balochistan province. Now, after the policy for INGOs is issued, things have been streamlined to a great extent," he added.
He said that the previous government had completely shut their eyes, and there was no check and balance on them. He said that the government had ordered to complete their registration, while not a single NGO is being stopped from working. "The bureaucrats were being given stays in five-star hotels by these INGOs and people were being offered foreign trips, and this should be clear why all these things were taking place, and now this thing will stop," he added.
BILLS Three bills were introduced in Senate. The bills included, "The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2016", "The National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2016" and "The Contempt of Court (Amendment) Bill, 2016". The bills were referred to concerned standing committees.
INDUS WATER TREATY The Senate called upon the government to review Indus Waters Treaty, 1960, inserting new provisions enabling Pakistan to get more water for its rivers.
A resolution in this regard was moved by Senator Karim Ahmed Khawaja of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and passed by the House. Speaking on the resolution, state minister for water and power Abid Sher Ali said that Pakistan was facing water shortage issue currently.
He regretted that several projects for storing water like the construction of Kalabagh and Akori dams had become controversial, aggravating the issue. He said that both Pakistan and India should agree that there is a need to work on it. "Since the treaty is quite old and the government should consult the legal experts how to review this treaty," he added.
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