KARACHI: Donors and friends of the Pak-Turk schools in Karachi arranged a farewell meeting for the team in the residence of a businessman near Hill Park on Monday.

Schoolteachers from the Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Sheerin Jinnah Colony branches of the schools attended the event with their families.

The mood at the gathering remained festive because of children even though discussions among the teachers and their friends remained somber. Mohammad Eren, a mathematics teacher at the Gulistan-i-Jauhar branch of the Pak-Turk School, said many of them had made their peace with the decision of leaving Pakistan. But added that it was still sad to leave a place they had come to consider their home. “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 added.

Eren was referring to the recent rejection of a petition filed by the school’s administration in the Islamabad High Court. The petition was dismissed by the court on the grounds that the school should approach the interior ministry on the issue. The administration of Pak-Turk Schools filed a petition in the IHC following the orders of the interior ministry to leave Pakistan on Nov 20. The orders came a day before the arrival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who believes the school follows the ideology of his arch-rival Fetullah Gulen. The school vehemently denies having any links with Gulen.

Kaleeq-ur-Rehman, a donor and friend of the Pak-Turk Schools in Karachi, as well as the organiser of the farewell meeting, said: “Political decisions should not impact friendly relations between people.” He said that so far there had been silence on the issue as the teachers prepared to leave on Nov 30. The Peshawar High Court’s recent ruling in favour of the school administration did lift their spirits for a while, said Khaleeq, but it won’t be enough to reverse the decision taken by the government. He said more than 100 families were waiting to leave the country within the next two days.

Another friend and donor to the school, Dr Mohammad Ibrahim, said: “It is a loss for Pakistan.” Sitting at one of the tables in the garden, 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.”

Soon, the farewell speeches began. One after another, teachers gathered at the centre of the main garden to thank one another for their support for the past 21 years.

Eren, who has been working in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar since 2010, said: “I’d miss, definitely miss, the friends I have made here. And I hope that I can come back here one day.” He also said that their students from Lahore earned a place as grand winners in an international Olympic championship and would soon be representing Pakistan in the United States.

Published in Dawn November 29th, 2016