Pakistani top court bans FETO-linked education group

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday ordered the government to ban the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)-linked foundation that runs a network of schools in the country, court record said.

Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan also ordered to hand over the FETO-linked schools and other education institutions to Turkiye Maarif Foundation.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Turkey established the Maarif Foundation in 2016 to take over the administration of overseas schools linked to FETO. The foundation also establishes schools and education centers abroad.

The three member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Ijazul Ahsan issued the verdict.

On Dec. 13, a local lawyer Sohail Sajid had filed a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court and requested to declare the group as a "terror outfit" in the country.

The court directed the Interior Ministry to declare Pak-Turk International Cag Education Foundation (PTICEF), a FETO-linked group that runs schools in the country, as a “proscribed organization” and include its name in the terrorists outfit list.

The court also ordered the concerned authorities to immediately hand over all movable and immovable assets, schools, colleges, education centers and other similar entities owned by the FETO-linked organization to Turkiye Maarif Foundation.