Pak-Turk Schools Staff in Karachi Given Farewell By Well-wishers

Amidst government orders to leave the country, Pak-Turk’s Turkish staff have had to silently comply.

There was a glimmer of hope for them when the Peshawar High Court issued a stay order in their favor a few days back. The court had issued the order based on the grounds that the staff leaving early would cause disruption at the schools.

In Karachi, benefactors and friends of the Pak-Turk schools organized a farewell meet up for the staff near Hill Park. This occurred on Monday where teachers from Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Sheerin Jinnah Colony branches attended the event with their families.

Making Their Peace With The Government’s Decision

Even though the overall mood at the farewell was not gloomy due to the children and the festivities, the adults remained melancholy.

Muhammad Eren, a maths teacher at the Gulistan-e-Jauhar branch of Pak-Turk, said that they had made peace with their decision to leave Pakistan. He added,

It is disappointing. What makes our sudden departure disappointing is the fact that we were not given a chance to prepare our case to fight a legal battle against the decision.

However, we’ll accept and respect the court’s decision. We don’t want to do anything illegal.

He was referring to the petition filed by the Islamabad branch in the city’s High Court. The petition was rejected by the high court on the grounds that the school’s administration should approach the interior ministry on the matter.

PHC Stay Order Useless

Even thought the stay order was issued by Peshawar High Court, the government will not be reversing its decision. Another friend of the schools, Dr Mohammad Ibrahim said,

It is because of the efforts and training of the Pak-Turk school teachers that children from the underprivileged areas of Pakistan received international scholarships. Kicking such people to appease a dictator-like political partner is going to cost our education and friendly relations with the people of Turkey.

There were several farewell speeches at the event. Muhammad Eren, the maths teacher stated that he would definitely miss this. He said that he had friends in Pakistan and he hopes to come back here some day.

Via Dawn