On Wednesday, September 27, 2017, around 2 am, a Turkish educationist and former director of PakTurk International Schools, Mr. Mesut Kacmaz, his wife and two teenage doughters were abducted by 15 unidentified men from their house in Lahore, Pakistan. Mr. Kacmaz and his family, including the doughters, were blindfolded and draped in hoods on their heads before being boarded on squad vehicles. They have got UNHCR Asylum Seeker Certificate and are under UNHCR protection. The whole family remains missing since then.

According to an unofficial remark, Mr. Kacmaz and his family have been brought to Islamabad for deportation. They face imminent deportation to Turkey, where they will unquestionably be subjected to torture and incarceration while their children may be sent to a state orphanage.

On the same day around 8 pm, another Turkish national was harassed by a group of armed people -seemingly FIA police officers- who wanted to question him. Having been denied entry, they got angry and threatened him with dire consequences. They questioned the residents about other Turkish nationals who are under UNHCR protection and threatened that if they don't hand in those people, they will conduct raids to all houses of Turkish nationals in Pakistan.

In full violation of the earlier decisions of the Lahore High Court and similar other high courts in Pakistan, the law enforcement agencies conducted and are conducting raids/psychological tactics to intimidate Turkish educationists who are under the UNHCR protection through Asylum Seeker Certificates. In fact all of these Turkish educationists are law-abiding foreigners who have not been involved in any illegal and/or detrimental activity in and out of Pakistan.

These incidents have triggered great reaction and unease among the rest of the Turkish asylum-seeking educationists across Pakistan. As a result of this fear, most of the families have been spending the night out of their homes to evade any potential raid or harassment. Especially, the children and women have been affected psychologically by the current situation which force them to leave the comfort of their homes and seek refuge at local families' houses.

Thus we urge the Government of Pakistan and the Ministry of Interior of Pakistan to stop the deportation process, release Kacmaz family, and stop the harassment by law enforcement agencies against Turkish educationists who are under UNHCR protection.

We also urge UNHCR to provide necessary protection and safe environment to Kacmaz family and other Turkish educationists who hold UNHCR Asylum Seeker Certificates.