PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Pakistani authorities have asked the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) aid group to close its medical facilities in a militancy-wracked tribal district, the organization said, as officials tighten controls on foreign NGOs working in the country.
MSF said the government has refused to renew the permit required to continue its health care projects in Kurram district in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) located in the restive northwest along the Afghan border.
“MSF is saddened by the decision from the authorities responsible for NGOs working in Kurram Agency,” Catherine Moody, the group’s country representative, said in a statement released late Wednesday.
The tribal districts are among the poorest areas in Pakistan, and are governed under a draconian legal system introduced by British colonial rulers more than a century ago.
A senior government official in Kurram confirmed that MSF has been asked to stop working in the district after its permit expired.
“They have been asked to stop working until their (permit) is renewed,” the official told AFP Thursday, adding that authorities have been paying closer attention to foreign NGOs across the country, especially in tribal areas.
The organization said officials have not explained why their permit was refused in an area where its has been providing health care for 14 years.
Although violence in Pakistan and its tribal districts has declined in recent years following a series of military offensives against insurgents, Kurram has remained a top target for militant groups.
Parachinar, the capital of the mainly Shiite Kurram tribal district became a scene of carnage in June when twin blasts ripped through a crowded market days ahead of Eid celebrations marking the end of Ramadan, killing 69 people and wounding more than 200.
The attack was the third major bombing to strike the area since January, with 115 people killed in total — the highest in Pakistan.
Inhabitants in the tribal belt have long complained its development and security has been neglected by Islamabad, which also appoints administrators with sweeping powers including the prerogative to collectively punish entire clans for the crime of an individual.
MSF has been working in Kurram since 2004 where it was responsible for an outpatient department for children under five years and an inpatient department for severely ill children up to 12 years of age.
“We will, as much as possible continue to provide obstetric and newborn services to the women of FATA through the MSF women’s hospital located in Peshawar,” the statement said.
The group has a long history in Pakistan, working with communities affected by natural disasters, conflicts and insufficient health care facilities for over 30 years.
Pakistan ejects MSF from militancy-hit tribal district
Pakistan ejects MSF from militancy-hit tribal district
Proposals on immigration enforcement flood into state legislatures, heightened by Minnesota action
- Oregon Democrats plan to introduce a bill to allow residents to sue federal officers for violating their Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure
NASHVILLE, Tennessee: As Democrats across the country propose state law changes to restrict federal immigration officers after the shooting death of a protester in Minneapolis, Tennessee Republicans introduced a package of bills Thursday backed by the White House that would enlist the full force of the state to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Momentum in Democratic-led states for the measures, some of them proposed for years, is growing as legislatures return to work following the killing of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. But Republicans are pushing back, blaming protesters for impeding the enforcement of immigration laws.
Democratic bills seek to limit ICE
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul wants New York to allow people to sue federal officers alleging violations of their constitutional rights. Another measure aims to keep immigration officers lacking judicial warrants out of schools, hospitals and houses of worship.
Oregon Democrats plan to introduce a bill to allow residents to sue federal officers for violating their Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure.
New Jersey’s Democrat-led Legislature passed three bills Monday that immigrant rights groups have long pushed for, including a measure prohibiting state law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has until his last day in office Tuesday to sign or veto them.
California lawmakers are proposing to ban local and state law enforcement from taking second jobs with the Department of Homeland Security and make it a violation of state law when ICE officers make “indiscriminate” arrests around court appearances. Other measures are pending.
“Where you have government actions with no accountability, that is not true democracy,” Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco said at a news conference.
Democrats also push bills in red states
Democrats in Georgia introduced four Senate bills designed to limit immigration enforcement — a package unlikely to become law because Georgia’s conservative upper chamber is led by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a close Trump ally. Democrats said it is still important to take a stand.
“Donald Trump has unleashed brutal aggression on our families and our communities across our country,” said state Sen. Sheikh Rahman, an immigrant from Bangladesh whose district in suburban Atlanta’s Gwinnett County is home to many immigrants.
Democrats in New Hampshire have proposed numerous measures seeking to limit federal immigration enforcement, but the state’s Republican majorities passed a new law taking effect this month that bans “sanctuary cities.”
Tennessee GOP works with White House on a response
The bills Tennessee Republicans are introducing appear to require government agencies to check the legal status of all residents before they can obtain public benefits; secure licenses for teaching, nursing and other professions; and get driver’s licenses or register their cars.
They also would include verifying K-12 students’ legal status, which appears to conflict with a US Supreme Court precedent. And they propose criminalizing illegal entry as a misdemeanor, a measure similar to several other states’ requirements, some of which are blocked in court.
“We’re going to do what we can to make sure that if you’re here illegally, we will have the data, we’ll have the transparency, and we’re not spending taxpayer dollars on you unless you’re in jail,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton said at a news conference Thursday.
Trump administration sues to stop laws
The Trump administration has opposed any effort to blunt ICE, including suing local governments whose “sanctuary” policies limit police interactions with federal officers.
States have broad power to regulate within their borders unless the US Constitution bars it, but many of these laws raise novel issues that courts will have to sort out, said Harrison Stark, senior counsel with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
“There’s not a super clear, concrete legal answer to a lot of these questions,” he said. “It’s almost guaranteed there will be federal litigation over a lot of these policies.”
That is already happening.
California in September was the first to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration officers, from covering their faces on duty. The Justice Department said its officers won’t comply and sued California, arguing that the laws threaten the safety of officers who are facing “unprecedented” harassment, doxing and violence.
The Justice Department also sued Illinois last month, challenging a law that bars federal civil arrests near courthouses, protects medical records and regulates how universities and day care centers manage information about immigration status. The Justice Department claims the law is unconstitutional and threatens federal officers’ safety.
Targeted states push back
Minnesota and Illinois, joined by their largest cities, sued the Trump administration this week. Minneapolis and Minnesota accuse the Republican administration of violating free speech rights by punishing a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants. Illinois and Chicago claim “Operation Midway Blitz” made residents afraid to leave their homes.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin accused Minnesota officials of ignoring public safety and called the Illinois lawsuit “baseless.”
