Schools alumni for release of Turkish family

LAHORE :The alumni of the Pak-Turk schools have demanded the immediate release of the Turkish family who were reportedly kidnapped from their home in Wapda Town, Lahore.

They held a press conference at Lahore Press Club on Monday and demanded the release of their former teacher along with their family. They said Turkish teachers dedicated their lives for the cause of education in Pakistan and they were being punished for it.

They said even the FIR had not been registered despite Lahore High Court’s order and they now feared for the safety of the family. In the early hours of September 27, Mesut Kacmez, a former director of the Pak-Turk Schools, along with his wife and two young daughters were abducted from his residence in Wapda Town by 15 unidentified people in plain clothes.

The Turkish teachers of the schools had sought asylum in the country since Pakistan revoked their visas on the request of the Turkish government. 

Speaking at the press conference, Osama Dastagir, a former student of the school, said he along with the Pak-Turk Alumni Association, were worried for the safety of their teachers and their families.

He said, “It is shocking that a teacher was kidnapped in a way that seemed that he was some high-profile terrorist.” He said that according to the witness accounts of their abduction, he and his family was tortured by the people who raided his home in the wee hours before taking them away like criminals.

He said the family was in the country legally and it was worrying how these people were being harassed. Osama said, “It is most worrying that, even after the LHC orders, no FIR has been registered. Another worrying thing is that the state security organs are telling the court that they don’t know who abducted the family and they cannot trace them.”

Usman Asghar, another alumnus of the school, said that the Turkish teachers had rendered their services to the country and Pakistan was their home as they were living here for decades. He said everyone affiliated with the Pak-Turk schools were worried for the safety of the family, while other Turkish families in Pakistan were also scared.

The students held placards inscribed with slogans expressing their solidarity with Mesut Kacmez and demanded that they should be produced before the courts.

Thieve arrested: Sundar police claimed to have arrested an accused who had allegedly stolen Rs24.2 million from a factory situated on Multan Road, Maraka Lahore within 24 hours of the incident. ASP Wahab disclosed this in a press conference on Monday. He told reporters that accused Jamshed had worked in the factory and as he left working there, he plotted the theft.

He looted money knowing internal affairs of the factory and fled. Police worked on the big theft incident and arrested him from Haroonabad along with stolen cash. Lahore CCPO Amin Wains and DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf announced cash prize and commendation certificates for the team.