We have made a quick rundown of the activities of some of the leading NGOs in Pakistan, including the Aga Khan Foundation, the Edhi Foundation and the Orangi Pilot Project. These activities suggest that religiosity and ethnicity, which are often portrayed in a negative light when Pakistan’s problems are discussed, actually do generate a vitality which allows people to contribute to society in a constructive manner. The Aga Khan Foundation made great achievements by concentrating the energy of Ismaili residents. In the case of the Edhi Foundation, Mr Edhi, who holds the appearance of an Islamic saint, significantly enlarged the scope of what used to be welfare activities based in his merchant community, the Memon. Bihari people played the principal role in the early activities of OPP.

The fact that early-stage activities, which represent a crucial phase for any NGO, were undertaken by specific ethnic or religious communities helped these NGOs produce results promptly and paved the way for their activities to be later upgraded to “universal models.” It can also be said that these NGOs were able to expand their activities significantly at certain stages because they did not use their religious or ethnic orientations as criteria to exclude other people, but tried to use their activities to reach a broader horizon.