Pakistani authorities have banned the operations of international aid group “Save the Children” in the country and sealed the office of the NGO located in Islamabad, media reported on Friday.
According to the authorities, the international NGO was under strict scrutiny of the country’s intelligence agencies after the killing of former Al Qaeda chief Osama bin laden in 2011 by US Navy Seals, The Nation daily reported.
After bin laden’s killing, the intelligence agencies were convinced that the aid organisation was used as a cover by the US spies hunting the Al Qaeda chief. An assistant commissioner of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration, along with the local police, sealed the country office of “Save the Children” located on Margalla Road of Islamabad after the interior ministry issued orders for stopping its operations in Pakistan.
A senior interior ministry official said the NGO’s operations were banned on the basis of credible intelligence reports and after approval from the top levels of Government.