Pakistan tells MSF to shut down in a tribal region

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – An international medical organization says Pakistani authorities have asked it to end its work in a northwestern tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

In a statement Thursday, Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said the government move ends 14 years of operation in the Kurram tribal region.

Kurram has witnessed scores of militant attacks against minority Shiites Muslims in recent years.

Doctors Without Borders was providing medical facilities in collaboration with two government hospitals.

No government spokesman was available for comment.

Pakistan in recent years has shut the offices of some non-government organizations for working without a No Objection Certificate from the Ministry of Interior, which monitors activities of foreign-funded organizations in tribal regions for security reasons.

MSF did not have the certificate to operate in Kurram.