The News (Pakistan)
25/05/99
LAW TO CURB ANTI-STATE ACTIONs SOON
by Arslan Rafiq Bhatti
LAHORE: "The government will soon make tough laws to check the illegal activities of the NGOs and will give exemplary punishment to those involved in anti-State and illegal activities," said Punjab Social Welfare Minister Pir Binyamin Rizvi in an interview with The News. He said the law will have two main parts 1) No NGO will be allowed to work against Pakistan and 2) Bound to provide record of money they got and where it was spent. He said all the NGOs were free to work on the charter they were registered on and they were bound not to deviate from their original path of work. He added after the legislation, all the NGOs would be paid by cheque through the State Bank.
Binyamin explained about 90 per cent of the NGOs registered under the Social Welfare Act were found to be bogus and an inquiry against those involved in anti-State activies was under way. He said most NGOs were not running public welfare programmes but instead were "doing politics" by using the NGO platform and maintained some even refused to provide a record of their activities and accounts to the government. This, is what caused the recent action to dissolve some NGOs. "Besides, they get huge funds from their donors but hoodwink them by paying paltry sums to their employees and pocketing the rest of the salary mentioned themselves", Binyamin said.
He said the government or he had nothing against the NGOs and the action taken was without discrimination."But whoever worked against Pakistan would have to face the music ???????? he stated.He said he had no concern with the NGOs' school's of thought but was worried by their actions. No NGO was working on its charter, whether human rights or women rights. And though doing politics was not objectionable, they should join a political party to practice this.
"The government would not allow NGOs to do politics." He stressed. He said the managements of most NGOs were misusing the platform and working against the country, harming its interests internationally in return for lots of money. He said they got money to defame the country from spots ranging from Geneva to Washington.
Binyamin said that of 1,941 dissolved NGOs, 1,100 were ghost ones while the rest were not providing annual records of accounts (audit reports) or their activities were against their charters on which they were registered with the department concerned. He said the dissolved NGOs had the right to appeal and about 10 nGOs had already filed an appeal with the secretary, including Kishwar Naheed - who has an NGO by thename of 'Hawwa'. He said no institution conducted any accountability or ever checked their activities for over five decades.
About financial assistance, the minister alleged Shirkatgah got Rs 800 million from the World Bank in the name of public welfare and the nation had the right to ask its management where the money was being spent. He maintained "the NGO had refused several times to provide an audit report to the Social Welfare Department; which was intolerable".
About some NGOs which had accused him of one sided action he said the Prime Minister, Chief Minister and he himself had nothing against them as they believed NGOs have a very important role in the Third World, and the Chief Minister himself had handed over some schools to NGOs. But his government was against NGOs "involved in anti-State and anti-Islam policies, working for and toeing the line of donor agencies after taking money from them."
He added some NGOs were even providing "girls" to senior government officials to get aid and clear the inquiries against them, alleging that because he had unearthed the nefarious designs of some NGOs, he had received several death threats from various quarters including the NGO mafia. Binyamin however added he would continue his crusade against the NGOs working against their charter and involved in anti-State activities.
He said the NGOs didn't want their activities and money matters revealed to the public, so they were raising a hue and cry. He added in future every NGO would have to provide its annual audit report to the department and there would be a strict check on their activities.
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