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Pakistan orders Save the Children to leave country | Pakistan orders Save the Children to leave country |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Pakistan has ordered the charity Save the Children to leave the country, with an official accusing the NGO of "anti-Pakistan" activities. | Pakistan has ordered the charity Save the Children to leave the country, with an official accusing the NGO of "anti-Pakistan" activities. |
Police have sealed off their offices in Islamabad and foreign staff given 15 days to leave the country. | Police have sealed off their offices in Islamabad and foreign staff given 15 days to leave the country. |
Save the Children said it "strongly objected" to the action. | Save the Children said it "strongly objected" to the action. |
Pakistan has previously linked the charity to the fake vaccination programme used by the CIA to track down Osama Bin Laden. | Pakistan has previously linked the charity to the fake vaccination programme used by the CIA to track down Osama Bin Laden. |
The charity has always denied being involved with the CIA or Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi, who carried out the programme. | The charity has always denied being involved with the CIA or Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi, who carried out the programme. |
The charity has had no foreign staff in the country for the past 18 months in response to the accusations. | The charity has had no foreign staff in the country for the past 18 months in response to the accusations. |
It now has 1,200 Pakistani staff working on projects in health, education and food, the charity said. | It now has 1,200 Pakistani staff working on projects in health, education and food, the charity said. |
Save the Children, which has operations all over the world, has worked in Pakistan for more than 30 years. | Save the Children, which has operations all over the world, has worked in Pakistan for more than 30 years. |
No government explanation | No government explanation |
The Pakistani government has not given a formal announcement explaining the decision. | The Pakistani government has not given a formal announcement explaining the decision. |
But one official told the AFP news agency: "Their activities were being monitored since a long time. They were doing something which was against Pakistan's interest." | But one official told the AFP news agency: "Their activities were being monitored since a long time. They were doing something which was against Pakistan's interest." |
A police official said that the charity's phone calls and offices had been placed under surveillance. Speaking to the Reuters news agency, he added that the charity's activities were "very suspicious". | A police official said that the charity's phone calls and offices had been placed under surveillance. Speaking to the Reuters news agency, he added that the charity's activities were "very suspicious". |
Condemning the move, Save the Children said it was "raising our serious concerns at the highest levels", adding that its workers were all Pakistani nationals. | Condemning the move, Save the Children said it was "raising our serious concerns at the highest levels", adding that its workers were all Pakistani nationals. |
A Save the Children official told Reuters that the Pakistan government had been stopping aid shipments entering the country, "blocking aid to millions of children and their families". | A Save the Children official told Reuters that the Pakistan government had been stopping aid shipments entering the country, "blocking aid to millions of children and their families". |
It comes after the Pakistani government announced it was tightening the rules for NGOs, revoking several of their licences. | It comes after the Pakistani government announced it was tightening the rules for NGOs, revoking several of their licences. |
The BBC understands that one of those NGO's, the Norwegian Refugee Council, has ceased all operations in Pakistan as its licence has not yet been renewed. |