MSF ordered out of tribal region
Aid group in area since 2004 says officials have not explained why their permit was refused
Pakistani authorities have asked the Medecins Sans Frontieres (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 health care 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 journalists 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 health care for 14 years.
Although violence in Pakistan and its tribal districts has declined in recent years following a series of military offensives against insurgents, Kurram has remained a top target for militant groups.
MSF has been working in Kurram since 2004 where it was
We will, as much as possible continue to provide obstetric and newborn services to the women of FATA through the MSF women’s hospital located in Peshawar” Medecins Sans Frontieres
responsible for an outpatient department for children under five years and an inpatient department for severely ill children up to 12 years of age.
“We will, as much as possible continue to provide obstetric and newborn services to the women of FATA through the MSF women’s hospital located in Peshawar,” the statement said.