NGOs demand issuance of registration, NOCs at district levelBy

HARIPUR: The representatives of various registered non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the district have demanded the provincial government to authorise the district level authorities of social welfare, industrial development and deputy commissioners for registration and renewal of NGOs and issuing them NOCs for implementation of project activities.

The demand was made at a meeting of Haripur-based NGOs at the conference room of Haripur Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Discussing the problems that the local NGOs had been facing for the last several years, the speakers said the NGO sector in Pakistan had contributed a lot to the national economy by bringing foreign funding to the tune of billions of rupees.

They said that while implementing the projects, the NGOs shared the burden of successive governments by creating thousands of job opportunities.

The NGOs, the speakers claimed, had helped the government in providing infrastructural development and developed capacities of general public especially women in agriculture, health, education, environment protection, human rights, democracy and governance.

However, they lamented that the elements opposed to the empowerment of general public and marginalised communities had launched an organised vilification campaign against the NGOs in Pakistan.

Qasir Ali Warsi, Asif Ali Jah, Sadaqat Khan, Hanifa Jadoon, Sajida Younas, Saeed Ahmed, and Younas Awan were prominent among those who spoke at the meeting.