World Bulletin / News Desk

The Turkish principals and directors of a network of schools in Pakistan linked to the group accused of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey have been removed, officials and local media said Wednesday.

Local English daily quoted an unnamed official from the PakTurk International Education Foundation, which runs the schools, saying that a new local board of directors would be appointed and the schools would be re-registered as a local organization rather than international NGO.

The newspaper reported that the move is being seen as an attempt to avoid the schools being closed down after Pakistan promised to cooperate with Turkey's request to do so during a visit last week by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

There are 28 schools in Pakistan run under the PakTurk International Education Foundation which was established in 1995 and is linked to the Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO).

The report said the schools would no longer be registered as an international NGO but as the locally-registered PakTurk Education foundation.

The foundation has filed petitions in the Islamabad and Lahore High Courts seeking orders against the possibility of them being closed down. The Pakistani foreign office was not available for comment at the time of publication.