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Friday March 29, 2024

Dubious activities of NGO

By Riaz Khan Daudzai
July 22, 2016

Sub-National Governance Programme banned in KP

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has banned the Strengthening Sub-National Governance (SNG) programme after a non-governmental organisation working with it was found involved in subversive activities in Hazara division.

Sources in the Civil Secretariat told The News the decision to ban the SNG was endorsed at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak here Thursday.The meeting among others was attended by secretary Home and Tribal Affairs Department, Capt (Retd) Munir Azam, officials of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Health Department, Communication and Works (C&W) and other high-ranking officials.

The SNG Programme, as its literature show, is providing technical assistance to the provincial government and six districts governments for the improvement of service delivery. The six focused districts are Haripur, Nowshera and Buner in northern region of the province and Karak, Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan districts in the south with focus on areas including Public Financial Management (PFM) to assist the government to bring policy reforms and help the Finance Department and district authorities to prioritise and execute evidence based planning through citizens’ engagement.

The sources informed that the decision of banning the SNG was taken in the backdrop of exhaustive investigations done by state agencies, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) that found some NGOs working with different programmes involved in dubious activities.

They added that the SNG programme had engaged some NGOs, including Oxford Policy Management (OPM), an international NGO, for carrying out digital mapping for the programme in some districts. The Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom that is responsible for administering overseas aid, was funding the OPM in its interventions with the SNG.

The sources did not rule out the possibility of further probe by the intelligence agencies to find out whether or not the GSP equipment was used for data transfer and other obnoxious activities. The intelligence agencies, the sources said, while tracking down the operatives of the OPM, found some GPS (Global Positioning System) equipment which the NGO was using during its activities in Haripur for digital mapping for the SNG.

According to the sources, the equipment was seized and a probe was initiated to find out the motive behind the operation.The sources shared copies of the letter of the Home and Tribal Affairs Department that was circulated to the heads, in-charge officers of various projects, institutions and secretaries of the line departments on June 20. The letter informed these public sector entities that activities of two NGOs, OPM and Society for EDN Awareness, Relief, and Community Health (Search) had been banned with immediate effect.

However, the sources added, the SNG management continued to engage with the OPM ignoring the directives of the provincial government. They said the matter was brought into the notice of the concerned quarters that banned the operation of the SNG in the province forcing it to shift its offices.

Quoting an officer privy to the meeting on Thursday, the sources said the chief minister directed the departments concerned, including Health, Finance and Local Government, Elections and Rural Development Department to support all the projects initiated by the SNG through provincial resources.

The chief minister told the meeting that the provincial government would divert funds to all the projects of the SNG and none of these projects in Health and other sectors would be abandoned midway.