ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior introduced an elaborate mechanism to facilitate the relief efforts of international non-government organisations (INGOs) operating in Afghanistan.
This was disclosed during the meeting of the Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC) Wednesday chaired by National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf.
The officials from the Ministry of Interior informed the meeting the main objective of the measures was to facilitate the humanitarian efforts in the war-torn nation and both new groups, as well as those already registered, will benefit from it.
An INGO applying for registration would now be required to submit a credentials verification letter from the concerned embassy, proof of registration in the country of origin, and source of funding along with local residence address and details of its designated staff.
A scrutiny committee will complete the process within three weeks.
Similarly, the process of issuance of visas has been made less cumbersome and time-consuming. Duration for processing visa requests has been reduced to 10 days and entry visas for INGO or international organisations’ staff wanting to work for assistance in Afghanistan will be issued without security clearance.
Yusuf appreciated the initiative and said it would immensely help the humanitarian assistance efforts for the people of Afghanistan.
The meeting was attended by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Commerce, Planning and Finance, Federal Board of Revenue, and Higher Education Commission.
