‘Govt, civil society partnership important for development’

Islamabad: Syeda Adeela Bokhari from Economic Affairs Division has said that the ministry has devised a new draft policy to ensure the accountability and financial transparency of the INGOs/NGOs which will be implemented after the formal approval from the federal cabinet.

Ms Adeela was addressing a webinar on ‘The State of Civil Society in Pakistan’ jointly organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP) here Saturday.

Ms Adeela said that her division regulates only those INGOs which receive a financial contribution from the foreign countries and donors. She said that the new policy is expected to respond to various issues and concerns of the sector. Besides, a web-portal is being created to facilitate online applications for the registration of INGOs/NGOs with the EAD.

She said the new policy suggests curtailing time to 60 days for completion of the registration process. She said a record number of MoUs have been finalised during the last quarter. She said the EAD is open to civil society organisations and plans to facilitate those organisations that are doing a good job. She called for greater accountability and transparency in the sector.

Dr Attiya Inayatullah, former parliamentarian and chairperson of the PCP’s research committee, discussing the role of civil society organisations said that these organisations work for the development of the country and democracy. She said that civil society organisations (CSOs) in Pakistan is facing challenges on multiple fronts. “Hence, we need unity of purpose among government, private sector, and civil society as the third sector. She said that to bring a social change and to achieve the goal of sustainable development, the vibrant role of CSOs is the need of the hour,” she added. She said that the government must engage civil society as an important equal partner in development.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed Institute of Science &Technology President Shahnaz Wazir Ali observed that the government should not be just a regulator but it should be a facilitator to the CSOs.