Pakistani authorities have sealed up children’s charity Save the Children’s Islamabad offices, and ordered the charity to leave the country, over accusations that it took part in “anti-Pakistan” activities.

The charity, which has been working in the country since 1980, said it “strongly objected” to the action, which yesterday saw its Islamabad offices closed up and all belongings seized by Pakistani authorities. The charity’s 1,200 Pakistani employees have been sent home, and any foreign workers ordered to leave the country within fifteen days.

However, Save the Children said that it “does not have any expatriate staff working in Pakistan, all our staff are Pakistani”.

In a statement the charity said: “Save the Children was not served any notice to this effect. We strongly object to this action and are raising our serious concerns at the highest levels.”

Save the Children said that the reason for the eviction is unclear, however in 2012 Pakistan claimed it had linked the charity to the fake vaccination programme which was used by the CIA to track down Osama Bin Laden. It went on to order all foreign staff to leave the country.

The charity has always denied any involvement with the CIA or with the Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, who carried out the programme.

Speaking anonymously, police sources told Reuters that the charity was being shut down because it was involved in “anti-Pakistani projects”.

A senior police official in Islamabad said: "We have been monitoring their calls and watching their offices and their activities are very suspicious."