Pak court suspends medical council's order to expel Afghan students from institutions

Lahore: A Pakistani court on Friday suspended the order of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to expel Afghan students from medical institutions across the country and repatriate them to Afghanistan.

The Pakistan government on Wednesday ordered medical and dental institutions across the country to expel Afghan students and stop admitting them forthwith, amid deteriorating ties between the two countries.

Some Afghan medical students on Thursday filed a petition in a Pakistani court challenging the government's decision to expel them and their "forced" repatriation to Afghanistan.


According to a court official, Lahore High Court Justice Khalid Ishaq accepted the plea of 13 Afghan medical students and suspended the PMDC order with immediate effect.

"The judge directed that Afghan students be allowed to continue education, sit their examinations and return to hostels," he said.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge passed the order.

He also sought replies from the respondents, including the PMDC, the health ministry and the vice chancellors of the medical universities and colleges in question, at the next hearing on September 18.

The government's move to expel Afghan medical students threatens to disrupt the education and professional futures of hundreds of aspiring Afghan doctors and dentists.

The government linked the decision to ongoing tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.

The decision has particularly affected students in the final stages of their undergraduate medical and dental programmes, including some who are only months away from completing their professional degrees.

One of the petitioners told the LHC that she had completed two years of medical studies in Afghanistan before being forced to abandon her education there because of the Taliban restrictions on women's access to schooling.

"The sudden and disruptive process led to their evictions from hostels by their respective colleges and left them without accommodation as their academic futures hang in the balance. The PMDC's decision has caused significant distress among Afghan medical students studying across Pakistan," they said.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had condemned the decision to rusticate and repatriate Afghan students already enrolled in medical and dental institutions in Pakistan, warning that the move could turn an education policy into a humanitarian crisis.

It said the decision, along with the reported bar on new admissions for Afghan students, had put the education, safety and future of young Afghans at immediate risk.

According to HRCP, around 100 Afghan medical and dental students in Lahore alone could be affected, including an estimated 20 to 40 women.

"Some students have now approached HRCP seeking not only legal and institutional support but also safe shelter," it said.

The HRCP urged the government to immediately uphold the principle of non-refoulement, under which individuals should not be returned to a country where they face a serious risk of persecution or other grave harm.