Pakistan tightens screw on opposition

Pakistan tightens screw on opposition

By Richard Galpin in Islamabad
Saturday May 15, 1999

Women's groups, human rights activists and other bodies across Pakistan pledged yesterday to resist moves by the authorities to close thousands of non-government organisations in what was described as the latest attempt to silence opposition.

Following a meeting of the NGO forum in the capital, Islamabad, on Friday, a spokesman said they planned demonstrations and rallies as well as an appeal to the courts.

NGO leaders fear there will soon be a second wave of closures targeting human rights and women's issues and other community groups. This follows Sunday's announcement by the provincial government in Punjab that almost 2,000 non-government organisations had been 'dissolved'.

A senior official admitted that the second wave was imminent and that some 30,000 organisations were under threat.

He said any NGOs found to have indulged in 'anti-state' or 'anti-Islamic' activities would be shut down. He admitted that the definition of 'anti-state' activities was broad and included protesting against Pakistan's nuclear tests last year. But he did not define 'anti-Islamic' activity.

Already several top NGOs which get backing from western donors and have been critical of the government - such as the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan - say they are now in peril.

'They are planning action against us,' said Aziz Siddiqui of the HRCP. 'They have denounced us on television as anti-Islamic and have given notice that they will look at our accounts and registers.'

Mr Siddiqui said that the HRCP's licence to print a newsletter had been cancelled.

Other prominent organisations now fearing they will be closed down include the only private shelter in Pakistan for women threatened with violence.

'This is part of a government policy to crack down on dissent,' said Sarwar Bari, a senior member of the forum. 'The government doesn't like progressive, enlightened NGOs raising policy issues and being critical.'

In its defence the Punjab provincial government - controlled by Shahbaz Sharif, the prime minister's brother- says it is simply weeding out corrupt and inactive NGOs.

The are thousands of NGOs in Pakistan which exist only on paper and which were set up purely to embezzle donor funds. 'The inquiry has been going on for eight months,' said a government spokesman. 'We have cancelled the registration of those [found guilty] on the basic charges of either being corrupt or inactive.

Diplomats and western aid officials agreed that things needed to be cleaned up. But one official stressed that many fake NGOs had been set up by politicians themselves.

There is also much concern that the clean-up will be an opportunity to sweep away organisations disliked by the government because of opposition to nuclear testing and the introduction of Sharia law.

It is also feared that organisations providing basic health and education facilities could become victims.

A western official said: 'Up to a million people in the Punjab depend on NGO health facilities such as eye camps and travelling clinics.'

Western donors are expected to meet in Islamabad next week to discuss how to react.

Several prominent journalists critical of the government have recently been detained and beaten after late-night raids by the security forces.

The US has issued two statements calling on Pakistan to free the journalists and has expressed concern over the fate of a missing newspaper editor.