Written question asked by Dan Jarvis (Labour) on Friday, 26 June 2015, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 1 July 2015 (named day). It was answered by Tobias Ellwood (Conservative) on Wednesday, 1 July 2015 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Pakistan: Save the Children Fund

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Pakistan on its attempt to close the offices of Save the Children in Islamabad.

Answer: We acknowledge that need for appropriate regulation of NGOs in Pakistan, but we remain concerned at recent attempts to close Save the Children’s Islamabad office and have raised the issue at the highest levels on a number of occasions. On 12 June, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised our concerns with his counterpart in Pakistan. I raised the issue with the Pakistan High Commissioner on 11 June. We are pleased that Save the Children has been able to resume operations in Pakistan and we continue to monitor developments.

Secondary information