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| Pakistan Seems to Take Steps to Expel Foreign Staff Members of Save the Children | |
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| ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Pakistani government appeared on Thursday to have moved to expel international staff at the aid agency Save the Children, apparently over accusations that one of its employees helped the Central Intelligence Agency recruit a Pakistani doctor who played a role in tracking Osama bin Laden last year. | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Pakistani government appeared on Thursday to have moved to expel international staff at the aid agency Save the Children, apparently over accusations that one of its employees helped the Central Intelligence Agency recruit a Pakistani doctor who played a role in tracking Osama bin Laden last year. |
| In a statement issued from its London office early Thursday, Save the Children said the Pakistani Interior Ministry had ordered that “visas for our six international staff in Pakistan may not be renewed.” A senior aid official in Pakistan, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the staff members had been given until Sept. 12 to leave the country. | In a statement issued from its London office early Thursday, Save the Children said the Pakistani Interior Ministry had ordered that “visas for our six international staff in Pakistan may not be renewed.” A senior aid official in Pakistan, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the staff members had been given until Sept. 12 to leave the country. |
| But hours later, after news of the expulsions hit the local media, Interior Minister Rehman Malik issued a temporary reprieve. “I am examining the matter. However I have suspended the exit order for four weeks,” he told The New York Times in a text message. | But hours later, after news of the expulsions hit the local media, Interior Minister Rehman Malik issued a temporary reprieve. “I am examining the matter. However I have suspended the exit order for four weeks,” he told The New York Times in a text message. |
| Adding to the confusion, a senior official with the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, said the aid workers were merely being subjected to increased security in the run-up to the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. | Adding to the confusion, a senior official with the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, said the aid workers were merely being subjected to increased security in the run-up to the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. |
| “Otherwise, they should continue with their work. They are doing good work,” he said under customary rules of anonymity. | “Otherwise, they should continue with their work. They are doing good work,” he said under customary rules of anonymity. |
| The apparent backtracking was a reflection of the broader trouble clouding Save the Children, the largest international relief organization in Pakistan, since May 2011, when it was pulled into the controversy surrounding the raid that killed Bin Laden. | |
| Weeks after the raid Dr. Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor who had helped the C.I.A. track Bin Laden to his Abbottabad hide-out, told Pakistani interrogators that he had been recruited by the C.I.A. through a senior official at Save the Children. | Weeks after the raid Dr. Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor who had helped the C.I.A. track Bin Laden to his Abbottabad hide-out, told Pakistani interrogators that he had been recruited by the C.I.A. through a senior official at Save the Children. |
| Senior American officials have confirmed Dr. Afridi worked for the C.I.A. But they have denied any link to Save the Children. Still, the suspicion that mainstream aid work is a cover for intelligence work on the part of Pakistani officials and spies has led to intense scrutiny, bordering on harassment, of Western aid workers. | Senior American officials have confirmed Dr. Afridi worked for the C.I.A. But they have denied any link to Save the Children. Still, the suspicion that mainstream aid work is a cover for intelligence work on the part of Pakistani officials and spies has led to intense scrutiny, bordering on harassment, of Western aid workers. |
| Over the past 15 months many major aid agencies have complained of restrictions on movement, difficulties in obtaining visas for expatriate staff, and regular visits to their offices by Pakistani intelligence officials. The sharpest treatment has been reserved for Save the Children. | Over the past 15 months many major aid agencies have complained of restrictions on movement, difficulties in obtaining visas for expatriate staff, and regular visits to their offices by Pakistani intelligence officials. The sharpest treatment has been reserved for Save the Children. |
| The government has refused to issue its staff members new visas, international staff members have suspected their homes are under surveillance. David Wright, the outgoing country director, was the only foreigner called to testify before a government inquiry into the Bin Laden raid earlier this year. Mr. Wright left Pakistan for good this week. | The government has refused to issue its staff members new visas, international staff members have suspected their homes are under surveillance. David Wright, the outgoing country director, was the only foreigner called to testify before a government inquiry into the Bin Laden raid earlier this year. Mr. Wright left Pakistan for good this week. |
| Save the Children’s problems stem from the reported testimony of Dr. Afridi, a 48-year-old tribal doctor who ran a vaccination scheme in Abbottabad under C.I.A. auspices during spring 2009 as part of efforts to confirm that Bin Laden lived in the town. | Save the Children’s problems stem from the reported testimony of Dr. Afridi, a 48-year-old tribal doctor who ran a vaccination scheme in Abbottabad under C.I.A. auspices during spring 2009 as part of efforts to confirm that Bin Laden lived in the town. |
| Dr. Afridi was detained shortly after the Bin Laden raid and was sentenced to 33 years in prison by a tribal court in May. His family is appealing the conviction. | Dr. Afridi was detained shortly after the Bin Laden raid and was sentenced to 33 years in prison by a tribal court in May. His family is appealing the conviction. |
| Dr. Afridi told Pakistani intelligence that he had been recruited to the C.I.A. in 2009 at a dinner party in Islamabad hosted by a senior Save the Children official, Mr. Wright told The New York Times in April. A police report summarizing the findings of Mr. Afridi’s interrogation, which has since been leaked, identifies that official as Michael McGrath, an Australian who was Save the Children country director in Pakistan in 2009. | Dr. Afridi told Pakistani intelligence that he had been recruited to the C.I.A. in 2009 at a dinner party in Islamabad hosted by a senior Save the Children official, Mr. Wright told The New York Times in April. A police report summarizing the findings of Mr. Afridi’s interrogation, which has since been leaked, identifies that official as Michael McGrath, an Australian who was Save the Children country director in Pakistan in 2009. |
| According to interrogation documents, Dr. Afridi said he met Mr. McGrath at a workshop for health workers in Peshawar in November 2009. Mr. McGrath later invited Dr. Afridi to a dinner in Islamabad, where he was introduced to a female America C.I.A. operative. | According to interrogation documents, Dr. Afridi said he met Mr. McGrath at a workshop for health workers in Peshawar in November 2009. Mr. McGrath later invited Dr. Afridi to a dinner in Islamabad, where he was introduced to a female America C.I.A. operative. |
| That operative, according to the document, later introduced him to other handlers, named as Kate, Toni, Sarah and Sue. Dr. Afridi met them up to 25 times, it said — collected at Islamabad landmarks, then bundled into the back of a car until he reached a C.I.A. office that was located in a converted cargo container. | That operative, according to the document, later introduced him to other handlers, named as Kate, Toni, Sarah and Sue. Dr. Afridi met them up to 25 times, it said — collected at Islamabad landmarks, then bundled into the back of a car until he reached a C.I.A. office that was located in a converted cargo container. |
| According to the document, Dr. Afridi said the C.I.A. officials gave him a laptop and a handset that “connected with the laptop with a sound of a beep.” | According to the document, Dr. Afridi said the C.I.A. officials gave him a laptop and a handset that “connected with the laptop with a sound of a beep.” |
| Senior American officials in Washington have confirmed that Dr. Afridi was a paid C.I.A. informant and met clandestinely with American officials in the manner described in the document. | Senior American officials in Washington have confirmed that Dr. Afridi was a paid C.I.A. informant and met clandestinely with American officials in the manner described in the document. |
| But they have denied any link between intelligence gathering and Save the Children; some say they believe Mr. Afridi’s confession was collected under torture. | But they have denied any link between intelligence gathering and Save the Children; some say they believe Mr. Afridi’s confession was collected under torture. |
| Save the Children says that Dr. Afridi attended four of its medical training courses between 2007 and 2010. The courses lasted between several days and one week. But the group stresses that Dr. Afridi was not an employee, and that he was never contracted to run a vaccination campaign. | Save the Children says that Dr. Afridi attended four of its medical training courses between 2007 and 2010. The courses lasted between several days and one week. But the group stresses that Dr. Afridi was not an employee, and that he was never contracted to run a vaccination campaign. |
| Mr. McGrath is currently posted as the aid agency’s director in Bangladesh. Save the Children officials in London and the United States declined to comment on the assertions in the police report. | Mr. McGrath is currently posted as the aid agency’s director in Bangladesh. Save the Children officials in London and the United States declined to comment on the assertions in the police report. |
| Diplomatic efforts to intercede between Save the Children and the Pakistani government have been led by the British High Commission in Islamabad, with American officials preferring to take a back seat. | Diplomatic efforts to intercede between Save the Children and the Pakistani government have been led by the British High Commission in Islamabad, with American officials preferring to take a back seat. |
| In its statement, Save the Children said it was “urgently seeking clarification” from the Pakistani government about why its workers were being expelled. | In its statement, Save the Children said it was “urgently seeking clarification” from the Pakistani government about why its workers were being expelled. |
| Save the Children said that, even if its foreign staff members are forced to leave, most of its programs, which reach seven million people every year, many of them children, would continue under the organization’s Pakistani staff. | Save the Children said that, even if its foreign staff members are forced to leave, most of its programs, which reach seven million people every year, many of them children, would continue under the organization’s Pakistani staff. |
| “We are an impartial humanitarian organization, with a mandate for helping children in the greatest need. This is what we continue to do in Pakistan,” it said. | “We are an impartial humanitarian organization, with a mandate for helping children in the greatest need. This is what we continue to do in Pakistan,” it said. |
Ismail Khan contributed reporting from Peshawar, Pakistan, and Salman Masood from Islamabad. | Ismail Khan contributed reporting from Peshawar, Pakistan, and Salman Masood from Islamabad. |