NGO allowed to continue activities

LAHORE

The Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Monday suspended government's order of stopping NGO SAP-PK from functioning in different districts and allowed it to continue its activities.

The CJ took up the petition of South Asia Partnership – Pakistan (SAP-PK) moved through Advocate Asma Jahangir, and summoned the responsible functionaries of interior ministry and Punjab home department on January 27, the next date of hearing.

The CJ ordered that no coercive measure would be taken against the NGO staff. Appearing before the court, Asma Jahangir submitted that SAP-PK is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

She said it was a non-profit, non-governmental organisation established for charitable, educational and development purposes, and it had been performing these duties for the past 27 years, since 1989, within constitutional limits. She said the SAP-PK had a board of directors who were eminent people that set the policy of the society and the executive director was mandated to implement the policy through the guidelines laid down by the board.

At the regional level, SAP-PK employs a District Programme Coordinator in different districts of the province. Its activities are transparent and open to the extent that SAP-PK has invariably invited government functionaries to attend its events so that there is greater engagement between civil society and the government.

On behalf of petitioner Muhammad Tahseen, executive director of SAP-PK, Asma submitted that DPCs of Nankana Sahib, Layyah, Bahawalpur and Bhakkar recently received letters from respondent Social Welfare and Baitul Maal directing them to stop all its activities with immediate effect, to close its offices and suspend its operations throughout the country. She said these orders were issued on directions of the Ministry of Interior and Punjab Home Department.

The letter said, “The SAP-PK has been observed working in South Punjab pursuing anti-state agenda alleging Armed Forces/LEAs for harassment of workers and curtailing freedom of action of NGOs/NGOs towards this purpose, the NGO prepared a shadow report for sharing with UN Human Rights Commission presenting a very bleak picture of human rights in Pakistan targeting directly the measures taken in context of NAP and Operation Zarb-e-Azb.” She said this letter was misleading and illegal. Firstly, the allegation made against SAP-PK of producing a shadow report for the UN is incorrect and false, and secondly, even if such report was to be made, it is within the right of any organisation or individual to do so. She said local police were harassing their staff to stop functioning of the organisation which was illegal and unconstitutional. She said they should not be victimised in an abrupt and non-transparent manner. She prayed to the court in the petition to declare orders illegal and unconstitutional.

She requested the court to restrain the respondents from stopping SAP-PK staff from operating and carrying out their work within Pakistan and suspend the impugned orders until the final adjudication of this writ petition.