Condemning the February 25 attack on the Plan International and killings of five of its workers in Mansehra, a group of civil society organisations has demanded of the government to provide security to the bodies working in the social and development sectors.
According to a press release issued here, an emergency meeting of the of civil society organisations comprising Woman Action Forum, Noor Education Trust, HomeNet Pakistan and Aurat Foundation was held here on Wednesday to discuss the critical security situation for the NGOs in NWFP.
The participants of the meeting expressed grave concern over the Mansehra incident that took the lives of five NGO workers whose only fault was working for the betterment of the people in the development sector, a task supposed to be done by the state. "No one has the right to sabotage the process of development. The government should provide security to the people working for the wellbeing of the society," said the participants.
The CSOs members said the NGO workers across the province and the country were under various pressures and dangers. "Threatening letters to NGOs, bomb blasts at offices, kidnapping of workers and commandeering of vehicles have been a common feature for quite some time, but Mansehra terror incident was the first of its kind in the province," the participants of the meeting noted with anger and concern.
They pointed out that after the Mansehra killings, several national and international organisations had suspended work in the quake-hit area. It will hit hard those hapless people of the October 8 devastating earthquake who are looking to the NGOs for their rehabilitation," they went on to say.
The participants urged the government to take a quick and strict action against terrorists and the elements who did not want women, children and common men to live a peaceful life.-PR