The Study of NGOs in Pakistan

The given shred of writing is the summary of ADB’s (Asian Development Bank) report on NGOs of Pakistan.

The history of Pakistani NGOs has its roots back in time of partition. Although not directed to as NGOs at that time, many voluntary organizations were contrived to provide humanitarian aids to refugees pouring into the country and to help victims of communal riots. During the first few years of Pakistan, many of these NGOs concentrated on rehabilitation and basic services such as health and education. Some of these voluntary organizations remain active today, although their roles may have changed today. Many continue to be led by Begums, the wives of influential bureaucrats, politician and businessmen.

The next upsurge in the formation of NGOs took place in 1970s, when martial law government explicated its philosophy of social work welfare. During 1980s, many new NGOs emerged to avail of funding set aside for development through local bodies. In the party-free polls of 1985, many legislators encouraged the growth of new NGOs to absorb the special funds available to them for development of their constituencies. A number of women’s NGOs were also instituted during this period.

In the early 1990s, there was another rapid increase in NGOs, when new organization were formed to take advantage of new available funding under the People’s Work Programme, particularly in rural Sindh and Punjab.

It is difficult to estimate to the number of NGOs in Pakistan. Only rough estimates are possible. In a publication of UNDP in 2001, number was suggested to be between 8,000 to 16,000. If non-registered NGOs are added to registered one, number of Pakistani NGOs could be anywhere between 25,000 to 35,000.

NGOs in Pakistan can be divided into several broad categories:

• Those involved in advocacy and lobbying
• Those involved in policy issues and debates
• Emergency, rehabilitation and relief organizations
• Those involved in implementation of development project and programs,
• Including service delivery organizations and CBOs (community based organization)