News: Pakistani Government Closes 27 NGOs
( Financial Times ) Pakistan has cracked down recently on international and domestic NGOs. Some of the 27 NGOs that were shut down include Marie Stopes, one of the few organizations in Pakistan promoting family planning, as well as other disaster and famine relief NGOs. This follows after another crackdown on NGOs in 2015, where all international organizations were forced to re-register and some were shut down without explanation. US News reports that " Talal Chaudhry, Pakistan's Minister of State for Interior Affairs, told Reuters the reason for shutting down the NGOs was because they were doing work in Pakistan "which is beyond their mandate and for which they have no legal justification". ( Source ) The situation in Pakistan, worsened by a power vacuum in the government being filled by the military, is an example of how NGOs are often at the mercy of their host nation. Some questions to consider: What can NGOs do if they want to continue their work? If