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Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday passed a stay order preventing the government from deporting Pak-Turk school officials.
A two-member bench of the PHC comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ikramullah heard a writ petition filed by students and parents of Pak-Turk schools.
The petitioners maintained that the federal government had ordered the expulsion of teachers due to a political issue which the teachers had no connection with.
The writ petition mentioned that there were 26 Pak-Turk school campuses across the country, in which around 11,000 students were enrolled.
The PHC issued a stay order on the federal government's earlier order of expulsion of staffers and issued a notice to the federal government to clarify its stance on the issue.
The government issued an order to the Turkish staff of its schools to leave the country ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visit to Pakistan earlier this month.
The Turkish government believes that the Pak-Turk schools are part of a network operated by Fethullah Gulen, a political rival of President Erdogan, and has reportedly called upon Pakistan to close them down.
Turkey declared Gulen’s organisation a terrorist entity after the July 15 failed coup attempt in the country.
The next hearing at PHC will be held on December 1.
Read more
Tears and uncertainty as Turkish staff pack up to leave
‘Crisis-mode PM’ looks up to Erdogan for inspiration
Pak-Turk schools saga
Erdogan says Gulen a pawn backed by a 'mastermind'
Turkey's FM presses Pakistan on schools, says linked to coup suspect Gulen
Fethullah Gulen, the arch-enemy of Turkey’s president
On DawnNews
Comments (46) Closed
Nov 23, 2016 02:51pm
Bravo - Peshawar High Court!
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Nov 23, 2016 02:54pm
Good.
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Nov 23, 2016 02:58pm
Excellent.............
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Nov 23, 2016 02:59pm
Good decision, the goverment seemed hell bent on bending backwards to please the Turkish government
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Nov 23, 2016 03:05pm
How can Gullen be wrong if he is promoting education?
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Nov 23, 2016 03:13pm
Very good decision. The government's haphazard efforts to please Mr. Erdogan have been rebuked.
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Nov 23, 2016 03:19pm
Hats off to PHC for taking a stance despite of Federal Government orders.
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Nov 23, 2016 03:19pm
What about those who have been deported? How many Turk teachers are actually left behind in Pakistan.. ?
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Nov 23, 2016 03:23pm
All the Turkish teachers left Pakistan.
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Nov 23, 2016 03:25pm
KPK govt working fine....
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Nov 23, 2016 03:31pm
A step in right direction by PHC
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Nov 23, 2016 03:37pm
@A If all the Turkish teachers have already left/deported then of what use is the High Court decision. You can't bring back the teachers now.
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Nov 23, 2016 03:48pm
Finally some sense prevailed teachers and staff who educate our children for last 35 years should not be thrown a way at the blink of an eye on the behest of a Dictator
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Nov 23, 2016 03:58pm
Good decision, these people have done nothing wrong, very callous of the government to tell them to leave so they can appease the erodogan.
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Nov 23, 2016 04:00pm
Bravo.... people of pakistan are friends with people of Turkey and its not NS/SS business deal with Erdogan
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Nov 23, 2016 04:04pm
But the damage has already been done. Many teachers have already sold their belongings and few have left.
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Nov 23, 2016 04:12pm
Whatever is not in favor of Country... PTI will encourage to do or do it themselves
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Nov 23, 2016 04:15pm
Good decision by this court. Let justice prevail
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Nov 23, 2016 04:24pm
@Usman how is standing up against corruption and for innocent people against Pakistan?.
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Nov 23, 2016 04:28pm
Bravo, human right before friendship. Pakturk friendship zindabad
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Nov 23, 2016 04:46pm
@A Are U sure.
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Nov 23, 2016 04:57pm
Isn't it too late?
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Nov 23, 2016 05:23pm
@lodhi at end of the day they are Turkish citizens staying as guests. They should have applied for Pakistani citizenship if they wanted to stay.
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Nov 23, 2016 05:25pm
this decision should have been taken 10 days ago....
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Nov 23, 2016 05:34pm
Brave and mature step by peshawar HC.
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Nov 23, 2016 05:36pm
Brave effort.
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Nov 23, 2016 05:59pm
Stop taking sides in other countries internal political issues. Today's heroes are tomorrow's villains and vice versa. What was the point of providing the platform of our National Assembly to Erdogan to vent his political venom.
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Nov 23, 2016 06:06pm
As a Turkish citizen living in Turkey, I can say that it is great to see the rule of law is still active in a Muslim country. Thanks a million Pakistani justice.
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Nov 23, 2016 06:41pm
we are favour of Turkish staff they r very good.Gülen spread education heis not wrong. Turkish staff only spread education it is false to say they r wrong
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Nov 23, 2016 06:42pm
@Usman How corruption especially Panama corruption is beneficial for Pakistan ? kindly elaborate so that "uneducated" people like me can understand
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Nov 23, 2016 06:43pm
Erdogen will be very upset..
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Nov 23, 2016 06:47pm
Gülen's purpose is only to spread education ,turkish staff also want to spread education.We are in favour of turkish staff.It is false to say they are wrong. PLZ PLZ SAVE EDUCATION.You already know the literacy rate of Pakistan.
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Nov 23, 2016 07:06pm
This is so great, court kept education on the top and told the world that Education has no enemies
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Nov 23, 2016 07:21pm
Great call!
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Nov 23, 2016 07:32pm
Thanks PHC we are very thankful to you.
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Nov 23, 2016 08:16pm
The call to expel teachers at the behest of a foreign leader shows the mindset of this government. Well being of 11,000 students is ignored especially when these students aren't provided an alternative in the middle of the school year. The court made an absolute right call and should block this move.
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Nov 23, 2016 08:24pm
Nawaz Sharif does not care about people.
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Nov 23, 2016 08:32pm
Erdogan is the only friend who supported Pakistan during all the hard times. We should respond in kind to him.
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Nov 23, 2016 09:04pm
@New Sadly, Erdogan is becoming too autocratic and authoritarian, by going overboard to clamp down on opposition, ordinary citizens, civil servants, military officials and even academia, after the attempted coup. Which, I suspect was staged by state machinery as an excuse for exactly usurping of unlimited powers for the president.
Turkey today is using the same tactics being employed by Erdogan that George W. Bush used in the US after 9/11, to pass Patriot Act and give unprecedented power to a new agency called 'Homeland Security' to curtail civil liberties, snoop on ordinary citizens; maintain no-fly lists and secret evidence against anyone suspected of slightest activity not to the government's liking. Turkey is fast becoming a dictatorship and a police state, on the scale of Putin's Russia - where one man is the center of power and no criticism is tolerated.
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Nov 23, 2016 09:37pm
Why the court has to intervene in Executive domain where even Supreme Court has directed petitioners to contact Ministry of Interior for visa extension and expiry.
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Nov 23, 2016 11:52pm
Deporting teachers for the sole reason to satisfy one politician is utter disrespectful to human integrity. The government wants proof when its their neck on the line. What proof has been put forward for the school closure???
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Nov 23, 2016 11:55pm
@New Turkey IS our FRIEND. Erdogon and nawaz are politicians.
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Nov 24, 2016 04:37am
@Life no ones been directed to do a thing...do you not get bored with this?
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Nov 24, 2016 08:35am
Was it not possible for the SC to take notice of governments decision?
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Nov 25, 2016 01:27am
@boring Yes, sort of
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Nov 26, 2016 12:49am
All teachers have been deported, there is no need for this decision now
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