ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The State Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Balighur Rehman on Friday informed the Senate that neither Pak-Turk schools were being closed down nor handed over to anyone.
Replying to a Calling Attention Notice raised by Mohish Aziz and others about cancellation of the visas of Turkish teachers and staff of Pak-Turk School, the minister said that these were registered schools and educational activities in these institutions would continue.
He was of the view that most of the teachers and other staffers in these schools were Pakistanis adding that Turkish staff in Board of Directors (BoD) had also voluntarily step down.
He said that it was the right of any state to extend the visa of any foreign national or not. Visas of those expired on September were given time to leave the country by November 20, he added.
Balighur Rehman said that visas of some Turkish families under hardship cases have already been extended upto December 31.
The network of Pak-Turk International Schools and Colleges in Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, Karachi, Hyderabad, Khairpur and Jamshoro has a staff strength of 1,500 who teach around 10,000 students from pre-school to A level.
Last Wednesday, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) in reply to a petition filed by students and parents of Pak-Turk schools passed a stay order preventing the federal government from deporting schools officials.
The petitioners had maintained that the federal government had ordered the expulsion of teachers due to a political issue which the teachers had no connection with.
