Pakistan will review applications by international NGOs previously rejected by the government. 

A special committee, spearheaded by the interior ministry, will decide on the appeals of NGOs wishing to set up in Pakistan.  

According to Pakistani newspaper The Nation, the committee will decide on all applicants within a fortnight of September 1.  

The possible U-turn comes amid long standing restrictions on international aid groups since 2011.  

Pakistani authorities alleged that international NGO Save the Children fake vaccination programmes ‘used by the CIA to track down’ former Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, killed by US security forces that year.  

Pakistan’s government then ordered Save The Children to leave the country for what it called ‘anti-state’ activities.  

In 2018, prime minister Imran Khan shut down the operations of 19 international charities after rejecting appeals to stay in the country.  

The majority of aid groups are headquartered in the US, UK and Europe.  

Shafi Musaddique is the news editor at Alliance magazine.