Pakistan Court upholds FETÖ-linked teachers' expulsion
In a victory for Pakistan's efforts to expel elements linked to the defeated July 15 coup in Turkey, one of its high courts yesterday upheld the government's decision to expel over 100 teachers tied to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), overruling an earlier decision.
Citing an absence of the defendants' lawyers, a two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court, led by Chief Justice Mazhar Alam quashed a stay order issued by the same court last month that restrained the federal government from expelling foreign staff of the Pak-Turk Foundation, which is linked to the terrorist group.
The verdict is seen as a win for the government, which pleaded that it was its sole prerogative as a sovereign state to grant or cancel visas to any foreign national.
The case, however, could continue, as similar petitions were pending in Pakistan's four other high courts.
Qazi Anwer, a defense lawyer, told Anadolu Agency that he would submit an application to restore the case, as he claimed to have informed the court earlier that he was busy with another case, but the court dismissed his petition.
Pakistan's Interior Ministry had earlier ordered the FETÖ-linked Turkish teachers to leave the country by Nov. 20, ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's two-day state visit to Islamabad.
The decision, however, was challenged by the foundation in various high courts across the country, including Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta and Sindh's, which have also stayed the government's decision.
On Nov. 17, Islamabad's High Court dismissed the foundation's petition against the expulsion, saying the petitioners should have instead sought redress with the Interior Ministry, as granting or cancelling of visa is the sole prerogative of a sovereign country.
"Permission to enter or remain in the country is the sole prerogative of any sovereign state... the permission once granted … can be revoked," Justice Aamer Farooq argued in his ruling.
However, earlier this month a two-member bench of the Islamabad court overturned the ruling and issued stays against the government's decision.
The Interior Ministry took the action against the FETÖ-linked teachers upon a request from Ankara, over the terrorist group's accused role in the July 15 botched coup.
The Pak-Turk Foundation, active in Pakistan since 1995, operates 28 schools in the country, employing over 108 Turkish citizens as teachers and administrators.
Citing an absence of the defendants' lawyers, a two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court, led by Chief Justice Mazhar Alam quashed a stay order issued by the same court last month that restrained the federal government from expelling foreign staff of the Pak-Turk Foundation, which is linked to the terrorist group.
The verdict is seen as a win for the government, which pleaded that it was its sole prerogative as a sovereign state to grant or cancel visas to any foreign national.
The case, however, could continue, as similar petitions were pending in Pakistan's four other high courts.
Qazi Anwer, a defense lawyer, told Anadolu Agency that he would submit an application to restore the case, as he claimed to have informed the court earlier that he was busy with another case, but the court dismissed his petition.
Pakistan's Interior Ministry had earlier ordered the FETÖ-linked Turkish teachers to leave the country by Nov. 20, ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's two-day state visit to Islamabad.
The decision, however, was challenged by the foundation in various high courts across the country, including Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta and Sindh's, which have also stayed the government's decision.
On Nov. 17, Islamabad's High Court dismissed the foundation's petition against the expulsion, saying the petitioners should have instead sought redress with the Interior Ministry, as granting or cancelling of visa is the sole prerogative of a sovereign country.
"Permission to enter or remain in the country is the sole prerogative of any sovereign state... the permission once granted … can be revoked," Justice Aamer Farooq argued in his ruling.
However, earlier this month a two-member bench of the Islamabad court overturned the ruling and issued stays against the government's decision.
The Interior Ministry took the action against the FETÖ-linked teachers upon a request from Ankara, over the terrorist group's accused role in the July 15 botched coup.
The Pak-Turk Foundation, active in Pakistan since 1995, operates 28 schools in the country, employing over 108 Turkish citizens as teachers and administrators.