Private Ventures Protected By The Islamabad High Court
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) recently declared that no private venture could be appropriated by the state. The decision was made by IHC while finalizing its verdict on the Pak-Turk schools case. The petition was filed by the Maarif Foundation which failed in its attempts of assuming control over the Pak-Turk institutions.
The Maarif Foundation, established in 2016, is subsidized by the Saudi government and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The establishment was to assume control over the administration of 28 schools in the nation after being declared as an international non-governmental association (INGO) by the Ministry of Interior.
The High Court however, while dismissing the request of the petitioner, proclaimed that there was no point for the foundation to argue for the reversal of the court’s decision as no foreign organization had any privilege or right to assume control over the schools in Pakistan.
Consequent to the government’s decision to oust the Turkish instructors from Pakistan, there were open protests organized by the faculty and students of the schools in question. The protesters demanded that the state not interfere in educational matters and reinstate the Turkish instructors while redeeming their visas. According to the Court’s ruling, the schools would be regulated by a board of governors.
Moreover, the Turkish government has requested Pakistan to stop the schools from functioning as they are the construct of Fethullah Gullen, a political rival of the Turkish President. Fethullah’s administration was deemed a terrorist one, post the July 15th failed coup.
The government had rejected the extension of visas of the Turkish faculty and later on the Interior Ministry denied their appeal for extension. However, after President Erdogan’s visit, the Sindh High Court dismissed the deportation order. The remaining provinces then followed suit. Those affected however will stay under the United Nation’s protection till November 2017.
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