ISLAMABAD: Social and human-rights activists on Friday rejected the government’s assurance that it is operating an “open and transparent” policy for the registration of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs).
“The government has issued arbitrary orders of closure of international NGOs and there is no transparency in its registration process,” said Mohammad Tehseen, the director of South Asia Partnership Pakistan.
He challenged the government to press charges against NGOs that it alleges are involved in “anti-state activities.”
“Why doesn’t the government approach the courts against those NGOs involved in illegal activities?” he asked.
Tehseen, who has been campaigning for the right of NGOs to work freely in the country, claims that the crackdown on charity organizations is part of a government strategy to clamp down on dissent.
“The welfare organizations have been providing services to remote areas of Pakistan where the government has failed to initiate development projects,” he said. “Is the provision of clean drinking water, education and awareness of human rights to the people a crime?”
On Oct. 2 this year, the government rejected the registrations of 18 INGOs, giving them 60 days to wind up their operations and leave Pakistan. In June 2015, the then-Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan directed all INGOs in Pakistan to apply for full registeration with the ministry to continue working in the country. As a result, 141 organizations applied for registration, of which only 74 were approved.
While briefing a Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights last week, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Mohammad Siddique said that all INGOs were given the opportunity to explain their activities.
“All of the INGOs that have been directed to leave the country were given the opportunity of a personal hearing but they failed to satisfy the relevant officials about their workings,” he said.
Zaigham Khan, an analyst and human-rights activist, urged the government to satisfy the donors’ community about the banning of the INGOs and to improve the transparency of the process.
“The Pakistani authorities will have to face difficult questions at international forums such as the United Nations about its purported crackdown against NGOs and human-rights activists if it fails to bring transparency in its working,” he said.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Thursday said that the government was pursuing an “open and transparent” INGO policy “which is underpinned by national laws, rules and regulations,” and that “the evidence is contrary to assertions.”
It added that all actions were in accordance with universally recognized principles and practice, as every state has the right to define laws, policies and regulatory frameworks, keeping in mind the national context, circumstances and needs.
Amid calls for transparency, Pakistan denies targeting international NGOs
Amid calls for transparency, Pakistan denies targeting international NGOs
- Activists urge government to ensure transparency in registration of NGOs
- Of 141 international NGOs, the government has so far allowed 74 to continue their operations
Pakistan reports current account surplus in Jan. owing to improved trade, remittances
- Pakistan’s exports crossed the $3 billion mark in Jan. as the country received $3.5 billion in remittances
- Last month, IMF urged Pakistan to accelerate pace of structural reforms to strengthen economic growth
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recorded a current account surplus of more than $120 million in January, the country’s finance adviser said on Tuesday, attributing it to improved trade balance and remittance inflows.
Pakistan’s exports rebounded in January 2026 after five months of weak performance, rising 3.73 percent year on year and surging 34.96 percent month on month, according to data released by the country’s statistics bureau.
Exports crossed the $3 billion mark for the first time in January to reach $3.061 billion, compared to $2.27 billion in Dec. 2025. The country received $3.5 billion in foreign remittances in Jan. 2026.
Khurram Schehzad, an adviser to the finance minister, said Pakistan reported a current account surplus of $121 million in Jan., compared to a current account deficit of $393 million in the same month last year.
“Improved trade balance in January 2026, strong remittance inflows, and sustained momentum in services exports (IT/Tech) continue to reinforce the country’s external account position,” he said on X.
Pakistan has undergone a difficult period of stabilization, marked by inflation, currency depreciation and financing gaps, and international rating agencies have acknowledged improvements after Islamabad began implementing reforms such as privatizing loss-making, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and ending subsidies as part of a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.
Late last month, the IMF urged Pakistan to accelerate the pace of these structural reforms to strengthen economic growth.
Responding to questions from Arab News at a virtual media roundtable on emerging markets’ resilience, IMF’s director of the Middle East and Central Asia Jihad Azour said Islamabad’s implementation of the IMF requirements had been “strong” despite devastating floods that killed more than 1,000 people and devastated farmland, forcing the government to revise its 4.2 percent growth target to 3.9 percent.
“What is important going forward in order to strengthen growth and to maintain the level of macroeconomic stability is to accelerate the structural reforms,” he said at the meeting.
Azour underlined Pakistan’s plans to privatize some of the SOEs and improve financial management of important public entities, particularly power companies, as an important way for the country to boost its capacity to cater to the economy for additional exports.
“This comes in addition to the effort that the authorities have made in order to reform their tariffs, which will allow the private sector of Pakistan to become more competitive,” the IMF official said.
