Pak tightens grip on foreign NGOs

Pakistani authorities have asked the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) aid group to close its medical facilities in a militancy-wracked tribal district, the organisation 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 healthcare 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 yesterday, adding that authorities have been paying closer attention to foreign NGOs across the country, especially in tribal areas.

The organisation said officials have not explained why their permit was refused in an area where its has been providing healthcare for 14 years.