Pak-Turk schools won’t close, says minister

Islamabad

The government will neither close down Pak-Turk schools in the country nor will it hand them over to anyone.

This was announced by Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Baligh Ur Rehman here.

According to the minister, Pak-Turk schools are registered with the relevant Pakistani authorities and therefore, they will continue to operate in the country.

He said it was the right of Pakistani government whether or not to extend visas of Pak-Turk schools’ Turkish teachers and that since their visas expired in Sept, they’re told to leave the country.

The minister said visas of some Turkish families had been extended until Dec 31 as hardship cases.

The Turkish government has alleged the school has links with the movement of US-based dissident Fethullah Gulen. The charge is however denied by Pak-Turk management.

Around 11,000 students are enrolled in Pak-Turk schools’ 28 campuses across the country, including Islamabad.

After the government ordered the expulsion of Turkish teachers with families from the country, protests sparked around the country with participants mostly parents urging the government to withdraw the orders on humanitarian grounds. They insisted the government’s move would adversely affect the studies of their children.