Trócaire ordered to cease operations in Pakistan

Irish aid charity Trócaire has been ordered to cease its operations in Pakistan by the country's ministry of interior.

Last week the aid charity received a letter from the Pakistani Government ordering the charity to shut its operations in the country in 60 days time.

The aid charity has been running programmes in Pakistan since 1973, and has had a permanent base in the country since 2007.

Trócaire has appealed the decision with the interior ministry, according to Sean Farrell, head of international operations.

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The charity had not received a reason for the order to shut down its programmes, he said.

“What we do see worldwide is there is definitely a declining space for civil society organisations,” he said. Charities carrying out human rights based work, and work promoting women’s empowerment had seen a “crackdown” from Governments across Africa and Latin America, he said. The trend, more evident in the last two years, was “deeply worrying,” Mr Farrell said.

“We don’t know yet if that is the case with the Pakistan decision,” he said. The charity would be asking for an explanation over the decision from the Government.

Trócaire employ 19 people in their Pakistan office, 18 of whom are locals. The aid operation has a budget of €4.1 million, and their programmes include work on women’s empowerment and workers’ rights.

Seventeen other international aid organisations received the same letter directing them to close their operations in Pakistan by mid-December, according to a spokesman for Trócaire. Other groups ordered to close include ActionAid, World Vision and the Danish Refugee Council.

“The letter provides for an opportunity to re-apply for registration, but only after six months,” the spokesman said.

“Obviously the challenging part of this is the 60 day timeframe, for an organisation of our size in Pakistan it is very little time,” Mr Farrell said. The charity is “still very hopeful” the decision will be reversed, he said.

The ministry of the interior has not provided the charity with a deadline for when a decision will be made on their appeal.

In recent years Pakistan has introduced stricter laws around the registration of international non-governmental organisations in the country.

Speaking about the issue on the RTÉ News at One on Friday, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said he would “certainly be happy” to talk in detail with Trócaire on the issue. “We’ll work with them on this, just like we work with them on a lot of things,” he said.