Pakistan orders 'save the children' foreign staff to leave

Pakistani authorities have ordered six foreigners working for the aid group 'Save the Children' to leave the country, officials said Thursday, suggesting the aid workers had been helping a foreign spy agency operating on Pakistani soil. An official from the Pakistani Foreign Ministry and a Pakistani security official confirmed the order and said it was linked to suspicions the foreigners had been working with the spy agency. They declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the news media, according to the (CNN). A spokesman for the Save the Children, Ghulam Qadri, denied the accusations against the organization, which operates in dozens of countries. He said officials from the Interior Ministry hadn't explained why the foreign workers had to leave. The Pakistani authorities have previously alleged that Save the Children was linked to the CIA's search in Pakistan for Osama bin Laden, accusations the organization has long denied, the CNN said. "Save the Children has never been involved in any activity beyond our mandate," Qadri said, adding "we have always cooperated with investigators and provided them with all the information they have asked for."