The Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Sadık Babür Girgin has asked Pakistani authorities to shut down all Pak-Turk Fethullah Gülen schools along with the Rumi forum, intellectual and intercultural dialogue platforms and other business groups run by FETÖ. During a high-level press briefing Friday, Turkish Ambassador Sadık Babür Girgin explained that Turkey has solid evidence of the involvement of Fethullah Gülen and his terror organization in the failed coup attempt. The Turkish envoy stated that Turkey is requesting the cooperation of all sister nations where there are Fethullah Gülen networks and schools, calling on them to shut them down. He said that Turkey has warm relations with Pakistan and that strong economic cooperation exists between both countries. There are 21 Pak-Turk Gülenist schools operating in all four provinces of Pakistan, in nearly every big city across the country, including the federal capital of Islamabad. There is also a Rumi forum, which is formed for lobbying for the Gülen movement and increasing his followers in Pakistan.

The Turkish envoy said that the Turkish government is in contact with Pakistani authorities regarding the issue and that progress has been made. However, he said that they are concerned regarding the activities of FETÖ in Pakistan.

According to sources in Islamabad, the Turkish Ambassador's press conference has been considered a big message to the Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif from the Turkish government and Pakistan's government is developing plans on how to shut down Pak-Turk FETÖ schools. It is first time that the Turkish ambassador has talked openly about the Gülen schools in Pakistan as previous efforts were made through diplomatic channels. Girgin said that the Turkish government has also requested that the U.S. hand over Gülen, who is thought to be the mastermind behind the traumatic events of the coup attempt. The ambassador said that the whole world is now condemning the coup attempt in Turkey but also that initially some countries that considered Turkey champions of democracy were reluctant to condemn this coup, which is really pathetic. He also criticized Western double standards and policies towards Turkey. Ambassador Girgin said Turkey will cooperate and improve relations with its neighbor countries, but that the country has not decided whether it will leave or stay in NATO.