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In an extremely sad revelation, the former Turkish director of Pak-Turk International schools, along with his family has been abducted/kidnapped from Lahore.
The incident, as reported, took place in the late hours of Wednesday. Kacmaz and his family had sought asylum from UNHCR through a certificate and had been staying in Pakistan for over a year. The Pak-Turk schools were shut down in Pakistan in November 2016, after Pakistan’s interior minister Chaudhry Nisar asked all Turkish staff to leave on the call of Mr. Erdogan.
This step came after the failed coup of July 2016 which was backed by Fethullah Gulen. The Pak-Turk schools are also linked with Gulen. Kacmaz and family did not return to Turkey directly and their asylum helped them stay here. However, in a strange twist, the family has now been kidnapped.
One Turkish companion who had been kidnapped with Kacmaz and family was released later. His recorded statement has helped us understand what actually happened. This is his complete statement:
“I am Fatih Avci, a Turkish language teacher by profession and currently an asylum seeker placed under the protection of the UNHCR since November 2016. I live upstairs from Mr. Mesut Kacmaz and his family. Mr. Mesut Kacmaz is a colleague and we both hold UNHCR asylum seeker certificates along with our families.
This is a picture of family Kaçmaz who has been kidnapped in Lahore.
Raise your voice against Erdogan’s which hunt over the whole world! pic.twitter.com/JaWV2DFOee
— Ali Yumlu (@YumluAli) September 27, 2017
On Wednesday, September 27, 2017, at 2:10 am, I heard a commotion downstairs at our house located at 461, E2 Block, Wapda Town, Lahore. I rushed down and witnessed that the door to Mr. Mesut’s portion was open and there were about 15 plain clothed `police officers’ inside. Out of fifteen, five were lady constables. They did not conduct any search-and-seize procedure, nor did they turn the house upside down.
The `police officers’ were pushing and shoving to arrest them. I saw Mrs. Meral, Mr. Mesut’s wife, lying on the floor and two lady constables were pulling to get her on her feet. The couple’s two teenage daughters were weeping loudly and some other `police officers’ were trying to push Mr. Mesut, who was protesting the raid, towards the door. When I saw the sheer display of disproportionate power applied on Mrs. Metal, I protested and the `officers’ arrested me and took me downstairs.
Soon, the members of the Kacmaz family were brought downstairs. While they were making us climb into the Toyota Hilux squad pickups, the `officers’ blindfolded all of us first and later slipped hoods on our heads (including Mrs. Meral and their two daughters). I was handcuffed in the front. They could not handcuff Mr. Mesut, so they tightened a cloth strip around his wrists. Mr. Mesut protested and a scuffle happened. Mr. Mesut received some blows on his face.
We were made to travel in squad pickups. I could not see any title like `Police’ on the pickup. There were revolving roof lights, though. All of the `officers’ were in plainclothes.
We traveled about 30 minutes and when they removed our blindfolds, I saw that we were in a well-furnished bungalow. It looked like a guest house. There were other people there as well. I guess some them were senior ‘officials’. One of the ‘officers’ said to me, “You were not meant to be involved in this, yet you got yourself involved. We have nothing to do with you. Your name is not on our list. We will set you free.” They even removed the wall clock so that we should not keep track of the time.
They blindfolded me again and drove me back to the gate of the housing society where I live in, I was not wearing any footwear, so I walked barefooted back home. I could not see any number plate.
It was so shocking that for a family of four, fifteen ‘officers’ were deputed. What was more shocking was the treatment given to the family: blindfolding them all (including wife and children) and slipping hoods on their heads. We are ordinary educationists and being subjected to such a revolting treatment as if we were criminals is so appalling. I have no idea who those people are and which organization they belong to.”
As per the police, United Nations’ High Commission for Refugees is closely monitoring the situation and it might have been that the Kacmaz family was involved in some sort of illegal activity. The Counter-Terrorism Department is being linked with the incident.
