Pak interior ministry to monitor international aid groups

Pakistan's Interior Ministry will strictly monitor the activities of international aid groups, the government today said, after authorities sealed the offices of non-government organisation Save the Children.
Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan told media that a high-level inter-ministerial committee recommended that NGOs should operate under the interior ministry.
"We are instituting a system to know where their money is coming from and how it is being used," he said.
He said the work is going on a comprehensive legislation to oversee the activities of aid groups in the country.
The minister also mellowed down his criticism of the NGOs and said at lot of them were doing work that governmental institutions could not do.

"We welcome these NGOs but we will not allow any NGO to work here if they operate in conflict with our values," he said, adding that there were over 40 per cent unregistered NGOs and from now on none of them will be allowed to conduct illegal activities in the guise of welfare.

Khan also praised Save the Children which was banned this month for allegedly working against the interest of Pakistan.
"Save the Children is not an enemy of the state. It has been registered since 1997 and is a globally-recognised NGO," he said.
Save the Children was blamed for helping Dr Shakil Afridi to launch fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad to verify the presence of Osama bin Laden who was killed by US Navy Seals in 2011.

Afridi was arrested in 2012 and sentenced to prison for alleged links with militants.
Save the Children denied having any link with Afridi or the CIA.