Pakistan Interior Ministry has asked the Turkish staff of Pak-Turk schools and colleges to leave the country by November 20 ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit.


This comes as in August, Islamabad had promised visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavusoglu that it would look into the affairs of the chain of Pak-Turk schools and colleges that Ankara wanted to be closed for its alleged links with US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom it holds responsible for the recent military coup.


The management of the educational network on Tuesday, however, expressed concern over the "abrupt move" and assured the students and parents involved that it stood firmly against any proposal for "ingress of some other organisation into the teachers and staff of the schools", reports the Dawn.


A senior official of the Ministry said the visas of the educational chain's staff had been cancelled and that letters had been sent to them on Sunday, informing them that they had only one week to leave the country.

The decision was in line with the advice of the foreign affairs ministry.