Lahore court suspends order forcing Afghan medical students to leave
The Lahore High Court has temporarily suspended Pakistan Medical and Dental Council directives requiring enrolled Afghan medical and dental students to return to Afghanistan, giving 13 petitioners protection while the court reviews the dispute.
In an interim order issued September 11, the court suspended the directives only to the extent that they affect those petitioners. It ordered that they face no adverse action and be allowed to attend classes, sit examinations and return to their hostels while the case proceeds. The order is not a final ruling and does not automatically protect Afghan students outside the 13-member case.
What the court ordered
The court sought replies from PMDC, the health ministry and the affected universities. The case is scheduled to return to the Lahore High Court on September 18.
For the 13 petitioners, the immediate effect is continued access to their studies, examinations and hostel accommodation under the terms of the interim relief. The court has not yet decided whether the PMDC directives are lawful or whether the students meet all registration, enrollment and immigration requirements.
What the PMDC directives required
The dispute centers on PMDC measures dated July 31 and September 1. The directives ordered enrolled Afghan students to return to Afghanistan and barred new admissions, transfers and migrations of Afghan nationals for the current academic session.
The petitioners and their lawyers argue that students were removed, or threatened with removal, without being given an opportunity to be heard. They also contend that PMDC exceeded its statutory authority. Those claims remain allegations in the ongoing case.
PMDC says the issue is compliance, not nationality
PMDC has argued that the dispute concerns registration, documentation and immigration status rather than a nationality-based ban. The council and its lawyers have also cited regulatory and national-security concerns.
Figures reported by Geo News show that PMDC identified more than 200 Afghan medical and dental students. The council said 22 were currently registered, including 14 graduates and eight students expected to graduate next year, while verification of 176 others was still underway. PMDC’s figures were therefore not presented as final.
The council’s position is that students must meet applicable registration, visa and other regulatory requirements. The Lahore order does not resolve those broader questions, and students outside the 13 petitioners do not automatically receive the same protection.
Foreign Office draws a distinction
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said students enrolled in valid degree programs and holding valid visas may remain in the country and complete their education. It said people lacking either requirement may be required to return.
That official position rejects the description of Pakistan’s approach as a blanket ban on Afghan students. It does not, however, determine the individual status of students whose registration, enrollment or visa records are still being reviewed, and it does not expand the Lahore court’s interim protection beyond the 13 petitioners.
The September 18 hearing is the next scheduled step. The court’s responses from PMDC, the health ministry and the universities could clarify how Pakistan’s medical-education rules, foreign-student documentation requirements and wider Afghan repatriation policy will interact.
Sources
- Dawn — LHC suspends PMDC directives against Afghan medical students
- Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs — September 10 press briefing transcript
- Geo News — PMDC says no nationality-based ban on medical education
- Al Jazeera — Afghan medical students in Pakistan face expulsion fear
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