Will LHC cancel PMDC orders to repatriate Afghan medical students?
Thirteen Afghan medical students have filed petitions against the PMDC orders.
The students include seven women and six men who were studying at different medical institutions in Lahore. Their institutions include King Edward Medical University, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Medical & Dental College and Services Institute of Medical Sciences.
Students challenge PMDC orders
The students filed the petitions through Advocate Asad Jamal. They said they were removed from their colleges on the instructions of PMDC, the country’s main medical education regulator.
The petitioners argue that PMDC and the medical colleges did not have legal authority to remove them. They also said the council must act according to Pakistan’s Constitution and its international legal obligations.
The students said they had already spent years pursuing medical education in Pakistan. They argued that the PMDC directives were unfair and could seriously affect their academic futures.
Scholarships and education concerns
Several petitioners are studying under the Higher Education Commission (HEC)-sponsored Allama Iqbal Scholarship programme. The HEC had welcomed around 350 Afghan students to Pakistan in July 2025 for higher education.
One petitioner, Nilofar Nikzad, said she had completed two years of medical studies in Afghanistan. She said she had to leave her education there because of restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women’s education.
The petitioners also described difficulties after being removed from their colleges. They said some students were evicted from hostels and left without accommodation while their studies remained uncertain.
The students said the PMDC directives had caused serious concern among Afghan medical students across Pakistan. They have now asked the court to provide legal relief as a last resort.
PMDC decision and wider concerns
The petitioners have asked the LHC to cancel two PMDC directives issued on July 31 and September 1. They want the orders declared “illegal and unconstitutional”, without lawful authority and void from inception.
“The impugned orders are discriminatory against women and all other Afghan students present in Pakistan,” one petition claimed. The petitions have not yet been fixed for hearing by the LHC registrar’s office.
On September 1, PMDC issued a notification directing Afghan medical students in Pakistani colleges “to return to Afghanistan”. It also stopped medical and dental colleges from giving admission or placement to Afghan students during the current academic session.
Reports later appeared on social media about Afghan students allegedly being expelled from public medical colleges in Lahore. A health ministry official said an “in principle” decision had been made to send Afghan students enrolled in Pakistani medical universities back to Afghanistan because of tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.
Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said “any foreign national without a valid visa and passport” could face deportation under the Illegal Foreigner Repatriation Plan (IFRP). Advocate Asad Jamal, however, claimed that PMDC’s directives made “no distinction between valid visa and invalid stay”.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also criticised the PMDC decision. It warned that the issue could develop from an education policy matter into a humanitarian crisis.
According to the HRCP, around 100 Afghan medical and dental students in Lahore alone could be affected. The figure includes an estimated 20 to 40 women.
The case has created uncertainty for Afghan students who have already spent years studying in Pakistan. The LHC petitions could now determine whether the PMDC directives can remain in effect.
The issue also involves wider questions about education, immigration rules and the treatment of foreign students. The court’s decision could have an important impact on Afghan students continuing their medical education in Pakistan.
Also read: PMDC bars Afghan students from medical, dental admissions
Also read: KEMU expels 20 Afghan MBBS students as PMDC tightens rules
