SC dismisses PakTurk Foundation’s review petition

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed a review petition of PakTurk International Cag Education Foundation, terming it non-maintainable.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh, dismissed the petition seeking a review of its order passed last year in December. The court order had declared the foundation a ‘terrorist organization’ in light of the decisions of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and Asian Parliamentary Assembly.

A local lawyer had filed the constitutional petition with the Supreme Court requesting that the foundation be declared a terrorist outfit. The petitioner had also requested that the Pak-Turk Schools be handed over to Turkey Maarif Foundation.

The judgment, authored by Justice Ijazul Ahsen, directed the Ministry of Interior to take action against the foundation under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), freeze all its accounts, and transfer its accounts to the Turkey Maarif Foundation.

The court also directed the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to cancel registration of the foundation. It is in the interest of Pakistan that a terrorist organisation does not function here, the court said. It also ordered that the administration of 28 schools functioning in Pakistan under the foundation should be rearranged in light of bilateral agreements between Pakistan and Turkey.