Pakistan closes offices of Save the Children

ISLAMABAD – The Pakistani government shut down the offices of the international aid group Save the Children in the capital, Islamabad, accusing it of violating its own charter.

Authorities placed a lock on the gate of the group’s offices Thursday night and asked employees to leave.

They also told Pakistani employees that the government wanted all foreign nationals working with the charity to leave the country within 15 days. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said Friday the group violated the charter under which it was allowed to operate in Pakistan.

In a statement, Save the Children confirmed its office in Islamabad had been closed by the government.

The State Department on Friday said that Save the Children long operated with transparency and in close coordination with Pakistan’s government.

Save the Children’s Pakistan operations have been under intense government scrutiny because of a local belief that the organization was somehow connected to the May 2, 2011, killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.