ISLAMABAD: Economic Affairs Division (EAD) issued a clarification about recently published stories in print media conveying the impression that the Economic Affairs Division has revoked or cancelled registration of 42 NGOs.
Economic Affairs Division (EAD) would like to clarify that this impression is not correct. Local NGOs are registered by the relevant authorities under their respective legal regimes i.e. the Societies Registration Act 1860, the Trust Act 1882, the Companies Act 2017 etc. EAD does not have the legal mandate to register or deregister any NGO nor has it cancelled registration of any NGO as reported by the print media.
It is further clarified that the Government of Pakistan in 2013 introduced the “Policy for Regulation of Organizations Receiving Foreign Contribution”. This policy serves as a framework to facilitate the NGO sector in accessing foreign funding for their planned activities. It is important to note that under the said policy an NGO enters into MoU with the EAD for receiving funding directly from an external donor. This funding is project specific/area specific and covers defined set of activities. EAD on receipt of a proposal from NGO scrutinizes the proposal as per Policy 2013 and undertakes the necessary process of consultation with federal and provincial stakeholders. Based on this process, EAD approves and sometimes disapproves the project proposals submitted by the NGOs which do not meet the requirements of policy.
So far, EAD has approved project proposals of 54 NGOs. Recently, EAD turned down the project proposals of some of the NGOs. This rejection is project specific and by no means implies cancelling the registration of said NGOs or questioning the legitimacy of overall performing of the said NGO. Those NGOs whose project proposals had not been accepted under the policy can file a review petition for reconsideration of their proposals and can also apply afresh to EAD for their new project proposals.
EAD takes this opportunity to reaffirm its commitment and cooperation for development related interventions of NGOs sector in Pakistan, the clarification concluded as saying.
