Does Pakistani law allow you to deport Turkish teachers, Nawaz Sharif?

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif shaking hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. PHOTO: APP
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif shaking hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. PHOTO: APP


Date posted: November 25, 2016

Yasser Latif Hamdani*

The recent controversy that has emerged regarding the PakTurk school system is troubling to say the least. PakTurk schools started popping up all over Pakistan during last decade. Turkey has always carried a strong brand value in Pakistan and it is therefore not surprising that the school system ostensibly embodying the best of Pakistan and Turkey was an instantaneous hit with parents.

This school system allegedly has connections with Fethullah Gulen, the reclusive Turkish Islamic scholar now living in the US. In the aftermath of the failed July 15 coup, President Recep Erdogan and his government have accused Gulen and his supporters of plotting against the democratic institutions of the Turkish government. As a result, the Turkish government has asked Pakistan to shut down the school system and deport Turkish teachers teaching Pakistani students.

I discussed this issue with a close friend from Turkey who happens to be in the government there. He was convinced that Gulen was trying to take over not just Turkey but Pakistan also. His parting words to me were that I should write to expose the Gulenist network in Pakistan as a patriot. It nevertheless seems strange to me, as an observer of Turkish politics, that ruling AKP should demonise to this extent the Gulenist movement which was their staunchest allies only a few years ago.

Gulen and Erdogan were allies against the Kemalist secularist military elite who had controlled the country and the democratic process since the inception of the Turkish republic. Mustafa Akyol, renowned Turkish writer and social commentator, has given an account of their earlier bonhomie when the Gulenists, AKP and liberals were all allied for one cause – the creation of a post-Kemalist state. It was in 2012-2013 when the Gulenists, who are said to have infiltrated the police and judiciary, began insisting on corruption investigation of leading AKP figures that a break between the two came. Therefore, the current power struggle, in which AKP has emerged victorious, arises out of a clash of personalities and vested interests rather than any real principled disagreement. Such is the fickle nature of politics.

Turkey is an extremely important ally for Pakistan, probably the only ally we have in the world with whom we do not have a transactional relationship. Hence, we have to choose sides in this conflict which has shaken the Turkish society from top to bottom. There is the AKP, with all its faults, which is the elected representative of Turkey. On the other hand, there is the Gulenist movement which appears to operate through the backdoor by infiltrating state institutions. In this, the Gulenist movement is very similar to Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in Pakistan which too cannot win elections but enjoys considerable state control through infiltration of civil service and the military in Pakistan. Obviously Gulenists are far more sophisticated than JI, but the comparison in my view holds true when we consider the class backgrounds and motivation of its cadres. So obviously our choice has to be AKP, a centre-right party, which in orientation is very similar to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which explains also the closeness and fraternal relations the Sharif family enjoys with Erdogan.

Yet to what extent should our support go?

So let us put this in perspective. Obviously conspiracies hatched by Gulenists in Turkey and JI in Pakistan (most notably so in their support for General Zia’s 11-year rule) against the respective elected governments in these countries are unacceptable. But would we, as a civilised nation, then contemplate closing down schools and universities run by JI in Pakistan?

No any such action would be unconscionably immoral and constitutionally unjustifiable. This is what separates a nation of laws from a mob. Civilised nations do not carry out a scorched earth campaign on those who it suspects of operating on an insidious or even a subversive agenda. Even after evidence is framed and suspects are convicted, we do not carry out a vendetta by destroying their businesses and livelihood.

All of this is equally true for PakTurk schools. First of all, the link between PakTurk schools and the Gulen movement is at this time merely an allegation. Secondly, even if there is a link, why must all Gulenists suffer retribution simply because of their religious or political beliefs? Unless and until a Turkish teacher or staff member at PakTurk schools has broken a law in Pakistan, there is absolutely no occasion for deporting that teacher or staff member. It is not that we do not love our Turk brothers any less but that we have to draw a line somewhere. It cannot be as simple as Erdogan snapping his fingers and people getting deported from Pakistan. Either we believe in due process or we are a banana republic, and if we believe in due process, it extends to each and every person without any regard for his or her alleged political or religious affiliation. That is the principle that we should hold closest to our heart.

The Peshawar High Court, by halting the government’s order of expulsion to Turkish teachers and staff members, has upheld the finest traditions of justice and fair play. Article 10-A of the Constitution of Pakistan contains the express guarantee of the right to fair trial and due process. One hopes that the government will not embarrass itself by appealing this order. The government instead needs to tell Erdogan politely but firmly,

“You are our friends and brothers, but we have to follow the law and constitution of our country as we expect you to do so.”


* A lawyer based in Lahore

Source: The Express Tribune , November 24, 2016


Related News

Gülen urges Hizmet members to defend prep schools in civilized way

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has urged followers of the Hizmet movement to insist on the “right and logical” and defend prep schools, which the Turkish government has said it will shut down despite tremendous public outrage. In a speech broadcast by herkul.org, a website that usually publishes his speeches, Gülen said not insisting on […]

Spy agency planning false-flag terror acts in crowded areas, whistleblower claims

A whistleblower who has a credible record of predicting police operations and government policies has made a surprising claim, arguing that the Turkish spy agency is planning to blow up crowded areas in order to frame the Gülen movement, a faith-based movement, as a terrorist organization.

Kimse Yok Mu to build 4 schools in Sudan

Turkish aid organization Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There) has laid the foundation for the Kimse Yok Mu Education and Culture Complex, which contains four schools, to be built in South Darfur, Sudan. 2 May 2011 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL South Darfur Governor Abdu-Elhameed Musa Kasha, Turkey’s Ambassador to Sudan Yusuf Kenan Küçük and Kimse […]

NTIC Alumni urges Turkish govt not to close schools

No fewer than Three Thousand, Two Hundred (3200) Alumni members of Nigerian Turkish International Colleges (NTIC) have condemned plans by Turkish government to close down branches of their schools established in various parts of the country.

New developments regarding Gülen movement

MURAT YETKIN FROM RADIKAL DAILY I was first introduced to the Fethullah Gülen-inspired schools when I visited them as a journalist while following trips abroad by former President Süleyman Demirel. Since then I have been wondering why the Turkish state is reluctant to make use of such a great opportunity. By “state” I do not […]

Fear and paranoia still stalk Turkey two months after the failed coup

The official government narrative is everywhere, from the Twitter accounts to the dominance of the state-affiliated and pro-government press and TV in the wake of media crackdowns. The same words and phrases have been repeated endlessly by the AKP and their supporters until they become almost meaningless – Get Gülen. Gülen. Gülen. We are democracy. Democracy. Democracy. That is how it is, and there is no room to consider anything else.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Gov’t criticized for forcing scientific researcher to alter report

Turkish-Jordanian relations discussed in Istanbul

Members of US Congress withstand intense pressure over press freedom letter

A major scandal by the Mukhabarat state

Al Gore’s daughter fasted for the first time for Peace Islands Institute’s iftar dinner

Amnesty International: Malaysia’s extradition puts three Turkish men at risk of torture

Ongoing tussle: Students, parents protest closure of Pak-Turk School in Khairpur

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News