Imran Khan denounces expected closure of Pak-Turk schools
Date posted: July 25, 2016
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan condemned the expected move to close Pak-Turk schools across the country.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the PTI chief said that the closure of Pak-Turk schools in Pakistan would be disastrous for the country.
“We stand firmly by Turkish democracy but closure of Pak-Turk schools in Pakistan, which has a high illiteracy rate, could be disastrous for the country,” he said.
Khan said that if the schools are closed without considering its consequences, it will put the future of the students and staff at stake.
Earlier, the Turkish ambassador while talking to journalists in Islamabad demanded Pakistan to close down all the institutions in Pakistan which are backed by the Fethullah Gulen-inspired Hizmet movement.
Around 28 Pak-Turk schools and colleges with staff strength of 1,500 are functioning across the country, including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and other areas.
African Union Commission chair supports creation of more Turkish schools
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, said on Tuesday during a visit to Johannesburg that volunteers working for the faith-based Gülen movement — inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen — should continue to build schools and other institutions in Africa.
Ankara’s soft-power dilemma
Turkey’s major assets in terms of successful diplomacy and soft-power policy included Turkish schools opened by the Hizmet movement all around the world; the International Turkish Language Olympiads organized by the same group; business associations within and outside the borders of Turkey; intercultural and interfaith dialogue societies; foreign language publications of Turkish society; Turkish hospitals in several countries; and Turkish international humanitarian aid organizations.
Turkey’s post-coup crackdown moves overseas
In several cases, Turkey has offered to run the seized institutions, although it is expected to face legal challenges. Kimse Yok Mu, which had more than 200,000 volunteers in 100 countries before being forcibly closed after the coup attempt, is understood to be preparing to take the decision to international courts. Joshua Hendrick, an expert on the Gulen movement said Ankara faced a big challenge when it came to stepping into the shoes of its former allies.
Caretaker AK Party gov’t criticized for police operation against youth association
The Yağmur Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Association, which was founded in 2013 by Ahmet Turhan, the Balıkesir governor of the time, has been giving Quran lessons to 60 children during Ramadan.
Judiciary acts in line with legally unfounded police report to describe Hizmet as terrorist
A National Police Department report accusing the Gülen movement of being a terrorist organization without any solid evidence is being treated as a document not to be questioned by the judiciary, which apparently views it as an “instruction” by higher-ups, recent investigations have indicated.
US Unlikely to ‘Speed Up’ Gulen’s Extradition to Turkey
Turkey has formally requested that the U.S. government extradite Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen from the state of Pennsylvania where he has lived in self-imposed exile for 17 years. Turkey is pushing for quick extradition, suggesting that U.S.-Turkish relations are at stake. But the burden of proof rests squarely on Ankara, and if it cannot sufficiently prove its accusations against Gulen, the extradition request will be refused.
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