Pak-Turk schools fully functional: official

Maarif Foundation claims complete support of governament

ISLAMABAD: Turkey’s Maarif Foundation has announced that Pak-Turk Schools and Colleges have become fully functional and new academic session has started there under its management.

Supreme Court of Pakistan had handed over the management of Pak-Turk Schools to Maarif Foundation in December last year.

The Maarif Foundation has announced that they have no links with Turkey’s self-exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen’s network-run Cag Foundation which was labeled as a terrorist organisation by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Maarif Foundation Country Coordinater Ziqai Auzgan along with Foundation Director in Pakistan, Salahteen Batir held a joint press conference during which they said that the Cag Foundation was involved in money laundering, terrorists’ funding and other heinous crimes while they hailed the decision of Pakistani government of banning the organisation.



They added that Cag allegedly had connections in failed coup in Turkey in 2016 while the apex court of Pakistan had termed it as a terror organisation as well as the interior ministry on April 18, 2019.

They expressed that Maarif Foundation was a representative organisation of Turkish government.

Salahteen Batir said that Maarif Foundation had completely taken over control of Pak-Turk schools since January 2019 while the new session was under way since April.

He added that they had complete support of Pakistan’s government while the foundation itself was in contact with teachers, students and parents as well as it was firm and confident in its operations.

Salahteen said that different elements tried to create uncertainty when the Cag was banned while he recalled that MARRIF foundation had no links of any kind with it.

He added that Pakistan and Turkey enjoyed strong friendship which would strengthen in the future.

He added Turkish language was also being taught to students in institutions run under Maarif Foundation while a language programme for adults would soon be started.

He told that many students have been sent to Turkey in exchange programs owing to which they were receiving free university education there.

He told that it was wonderful and appreciable that some 100 Pakistani students filed applications to participate in summer camp in Turkey.

Salahuddin said that Maarif Foundation was providing educational services in 35 countries around the world.

Earlier this year, Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking a review of its 2018 order that had declared Pak-Turk International Cag Education Foundation (PTICEF) a banned organisation and directed the handing over of control of its educational institutions to Turkiye Maarif Foundation.

On December 13, 2018, lawyer Sohail Sajid had filed a constitutional petition in the apex court and requested it to declare the group a terrorist outfit in the country. The petitioner had also requested that the custody of Pak-Turk Schools be granted to Turkiye Maarif Foundation.

Announcing its verdict, the top court had ordered the interior ministry to include the name of PTICEF in the first schedule to Section 11-B of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2019.