Pakistan has ordered foreign staff from Save the Children out of the country according to the charity, over fallout from a CIA raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.
The raid by the USA in Pakistani territory embarrassed Pakistan, who have since sentenced Dr Shakil Afridi to 30 years in jail, for running a fake vaccination program which gathered information for the CIA. According to media reports, Dr Afridi was linked to Save the Children.
Justin Forsyth, the charity's chief executive however denied these allegations, saying,
Save the Children earlier reported that the Pakistani Interior Ministry had ordered that “visas for our six international staff in Pakistan may not be renewed.”
However, the decision is not yet set with the New York Times reporting that Interior Minister Rehman Malik told them that he was “examining the matter,” stating that he had “suspended the exit order for four weeks.”
The CIA campaign was slammed by Aine Fay, from the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, who stated,
The raid by the USA in Pakistani territory embarrassed Pakistan, who have since sentenced Dr Shakil Afridi to 30 years in jail, for running a fake vaccination program which gathered information for the CIA. According to media reports, Dr Afridi was linked to Save the Children.
Justin Forsyth, the charity's chief executive however denied these allegations, saying,
"There have been allegations in the Pakistani media that Dr Afridi was somehow linked to Save the Children. It is absolutely untrue. He has never worked for us, we have never paid him, we have never run a vaccination programme in Abbottabad.The charity, which has operated in Pakistan for over 30 years, has only 6 foreign staff out of an estimated 2,000 employees in the country.
Save the Children earlier reported that the Pakistani Interior Ministry had ordered that “visas for our six international staff in Pakistan may not be renewed.”
However, the decision is not yet set with the New York Times reporting that Interior Minister Rehman Malik told them that he was “examining the matter,” stating that he had “suspended the exit order for four weeks.”
The CIA campaign was slammed by Aine Fay, from the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, who stated,
"The use by the CIA of a vaccination campaign to get information is abhorrent to us... It has hindered NGOs here trying to help some very vulnerable people."
