Afghanistan Peace Campaign
The Lahore High Court has temporarily suspended a Pakistani medical regulator’s order requiring Afghan medical students to leave the country, allowing them to continue their education while the court reviews legal challenges against the decision.
The interim ruling, issued on Friday, came after a group of Afghan medical students petitioned the court against a directive from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) ordering Afghan students to return to Afghanistan and instructing medical colleges not to admit new Afghan students during the current academic year.
The court ordered medical and dental colleges in Lahore not to expel the students, prevent them from taking examinations, or deny them access to classrooms and university hostels until further hearings are held.
The petition was filed by 13 Afghan students enrolled at some of Pakistan’s leading medical institutions, including King Edward Medical University, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Medical and Dental College, and Services Institute of Medical Sciences in Lahore. Lawyers representing the students argued that the PMDC directive would abruptly end their education despite years of study in Pakistan.
During the hearing, a PMDC representative told the court that some Afghan students did not possess valid visas. Justice Khalid Ishaq questioned the argument, asking how students had been admitted to Pakistani medical institutions and allowed to study if their immigration documents were allegedly invalid from the outset.
The judge also stressed that the status of Afghan medical students should not be treated as a national security issue. He said changes in Pakistan’s policy toward Afghan nationals should not automatically deprive students of their right to complete their education.
The PMDC issued its directive on September 1 as Pakistan continues tightening policies affecting Afghan nationals. The regulator instructed medical colleges across the country to stop offering new admissions or academic placements to Afghan students and asked those already enrolled to return to Afghanistan.
The court’s temporary order provides immediate relief to the affected students, who can now return to their hostels, attend classes, and sit for scheduled examinations while the legal case proceeds.
The decision could affect a broader group of Afghan students. Pakistani media reports indicate that more than 30 additional Afghan medical students have filed similar petitions challenging the PMDC order in courts across Pakistan.
Thousands of Afghan students have pursued higher education in Pakistan over the past decade through scholarship programs, including the Allama Iqbal Scholarships administered by Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission. Many of the affected students are women who left Afghanistan after the Taliban imposed sweeping restrictions on female education, including bans on university attendance inside the country.
Human rights organizations and education advocates have warned that forcing Afghan students to leave Pakistan could interrupt the education of young professionals who have few opportunities to continue their studies in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s restrictions on women and higher education.
The Lahore High Court’s ruling is an interim measure and does not overturn the PMDC directive. The court is expected to hear further arguments from the students and Pakistani authorities before deciding whether the regulator’s order can be implemented.