Turkish family deported from Pakistan arrested in Turkey

Turkish family deported from Pakistan arrested in Turkey

ANKARA: A Turkish school official, deported from Pakistan, including his wife, was arrested in Turkey on Tuesday.

In line with media reports, Turkey officials have arrested Mesut Kacmaz, vice-principal of the PakTurk International Schools and Colleges with his wife who had disappeared three weeks ago after being accused by Ankara of having links with the banned Gulen movement, the official's colleagues told media.

It is worth mentioning here that Turk government is against Gulen movement. Mesut Kacmaz has been accused of sponsoring a failed coup in July 2016 but he had rejected all accusations while Pak-Turk schools also turned down all allegations of having links with Gulen movement.

Mesut Kacmaz, vice-principal of the PakTurk International Schools and Colleges, was abducted from his home in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on September 27 along with his wife and two children, the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had said in a statement at the time.

"They were taken to Islamabad and were told Turkish embassy staff would talk to them before being released," Mehmut Ali, a director at the school network, told media, citing a conversation with Kacmaz's daughters who were with him at the time.

"At Islamabad airport, they were handed over to Turkish policemen. They were taken into an unmarked, luxury middle-sized aircraft, which was empty."

The daughters said the family was first flown to Istanbul after which the parents were separated and flown to Ankara, where they remain in police custody.

The children of Mesut Kacmaz now are living with their grandmother.