The Lahore High Court on Tuesday accepted a contempt of court petition against the federal government for deporting a Turkish couple ─ which had gone 'missing' late last month ─ in violation of the court's previous orders.

The high court had previously ordered the government not to deport the Turkish family ─ which was associated with the Pak-Turk International Schools and Colleges system in Pakistan ─ and to place their names on the Exit Control List.

However, Mesut Kacmaz and his wife, who were picked up along with their two daughters from their Wapda Town residence on Sept 27, allegedly by a law enforcement agency, were deported back to Turkey on Saturday.

The couple's daughers ─ Huda Nur (17) and Fatima Huma ─ had informed a former regional director of the Pak-Turk schools of the deportation.

They had said that their parents were handed over to a Turkish police team which came to Islamabad by a special plane. Later, the girls had left for Turkey by a regular flight via Karachi.

Editorial: Turkish saga: defying the courts

During Tuesday's hearing, the petitioner's lead counsel, Asma Jahangir, argued before the court that because deportation had taken place in violation of the court's orders, it amounted to contempt of court.

Subsequently, the court issued notices to the secretary of the Interior Ministry and took up the contempt of court petition.

The court also asked the Civil Aviation Authority to submit details regarding the transfer of the Turkish couple from Islamabad to Turkey.

Speaking to the media after the hearing, Jahangir said that the couple was deported to Turkey without their passports.

"The law of the jungle has prevailed in Pakistan," Jahangir said, adding that one ruler was focused on making another happy.

After the failed coup in July last year, the Turkish government had sought the closure of Pak-Turk International Schools & Colleges for being associated with Fethullah Gulen’s movement called Hizmet.

As many as 32 Pak-Turk schools and colleges were running in Pakistan. After the Turkish government had demanded the closure of the schools, an NGO of Pakistan had started operating these schools and colleges.

As many as 115 Turk nationals were performing at different positions in these educational institutions and more than 11,000 Pakistanis were studying in the school chain.

So far, 30 Turk families have been deported from Pakistan and more than 70 are still here on the UNHCR asylum certificate.