AGHS meeting held

LAHORE – AGHS legal Aid Cell has organised a Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting and expressed concerns over the crackdown against NGO’s activities.

According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the modalities of harassment were discussed and the participants shared a range of tactics being adopted against them to intimidate NGOs and to curtail their work. The participants said that due to the exhausting process of acquiring a NOC to conduct project activities, the activities of the NGOs suffer, putting their future funding at risk.

In the discussion, participants further said that the scope of NGOs activities have also been reduced as they are not allowed to talk on a political issue, research, conduct a survey or study, collect data, conduct mapping exercises, and conduct any advocacy campaigns.

During the meeting, it was decided that those NGOs that are facing harassment should hold seminars, press conferences etc to highlight the issue. The NGOs also stated that the Societies Registration Act should not be used as part of the legal or advocacy strategy as the law has loopholes that make way for state-sponsored control and intimidation.