The Indian Panorama

Tag: Sindh

  • US NGO based in Pakistan associated with terror organizations, alleges Congressman

    US NGO based in Pakistan associated with terror organizations, alleges Congressman

    Congressman Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, seeks a suspension of the funding to the NGO pending a full and thorough review of these allegations

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): A US NGO based in Pakistan and receiving humanitarian aid from the US Agency for International Development is associated with designated terrorist organizations, an American lawmaker has alleged. In a letter to USAID Administrator Samantha Power on January 24, Congressman Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sought a suspension of the funding to the NGO pending a full and thorough review of these allegations.

    “This award must immediately be suspended pending a full and thorough review of these accusations,” McCaul said. The Congressman, in the letter, expressed concern that USAID received information from his office more than eight months ago regarding credible allegations that one of its grantees is associated with designated terrorist organizations.

    In October 2021, USAID awarded USD 110,000 to Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) through the Ocean Freight Reimbursement Program. This award was made despite longstanding, detailed allegations that HHRD is connected to designated terrorist organizations, terror financiers and extremist groups, he said.

    In November 2019, three Members of Congress requested that the State Department review these alleged ties to terrorism in a public letter, he wrote.

    “Please immediately personally review this grant to HHRD. I strongly urge you to pause this grant while you complete a thorough review of the allegations, to include coordination with the intelligence community, federal law enforcement, the State Department Counterterrorism Bureau, and the Department of Homeland Security,” McCaul said.

    The HHRD, a top 4-star rated USA NGO, is also registered in Pakistan with the Ministry of Interior. It is present in all four provinces – Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – of Pakistan, in addition to Pakistan occupied Kashmir. According to the allegations and media reports, some sponsors of HHRD events in Pakistan include Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), the charitable wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terrorist outfit responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The US in 2016 had designated FIF as a terrorist organization.

    (Source: PTI)

  • Protests in PoK as locals grapple with flour crisis

    Muzaffarabad (PoK) (TIP): Frustrated residents in the illegally-occupied region of Muzaffarabad staged a protest against the spike in the prices of flour, according to a Pakistan media report.

    Trade associations and other groups have warned the government if the prices do not come down, they will launch a movement after January 19, it said. The flour dealers have rejected the government’s plan to form municipal committees to control the supplies.

    Pakistan is facing its worst-ever flour crisis, with parts of the country reporting a shortage of wheat and stampedes reported from several areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Tens of thousands spend hours daily to get the subsidised bags of flour that are already in short supply in the market, according to another report.

    The residents also suffered an electricity shortage. People in Muzaffarabad took to the streets to protest against increasing load-shedding hours. In Hanza, residents and trade unions were protesting against no electricity, no water, no doctors in hospitals and no medicines in the area. (ANI)