Lahore High Court upheld the suspension of the directive issued by PMDC regarding the expulsion of Afghan students on Friday, September 18, 2026, until the next hearing.
A notice was first issued on July 31st this year and was reiterated on September 1st by the PMDC, directing medical educational institutions to un-enroll all Afghan national students currently pursuing any medical degree in Pakistan and to facilitate their return to Afghanistan.
Across the country, students filed a number of petitions seeking protection for the continuation of their medical education. In the Lahore High Court on September 11, in a hearing presided over by Justice Khalid Ishaq, the PMDC directive was suspended, and a stay was granted to the petitioners, allowing them to continue their studies, appear in exams, and retain hostel accommodation until the next court hearing on September 18. Similarly, the Sindh High Court also suspended the PMDC directive for three petitioners until the next hearing date of September 29.
Speaking to Students Herald, the students said that since 2021 their registrations have not been processed, which is essential for obtaining a provisional license. This means that their education will not be recognized anywhere in the world, and all of their investment of time, money, and hard work will be in vain.
In another case, 22 students from Jinnah Sindh Medical University were assured of their registration, but the PMDC later declined to issue them licenses, saying they had never been registered.
Human rights organizations and student organizations have condemned this move by the PMDC. They are of the view that at a time when women’s education in Afghanistan is already banned under the Taliban regime, the PMDC’s decision, under the guise of foreign policy, is an alarming human rights issue. Many human rights activists and organizations have issued statements calling this a grave human rights violation. Students say that if a foreign policy has changed, its implementation should apply to the next academic year’s enrollments, while allowing currently enrolled students to complete their education and be awarded their degrees as per the law.
On September 18, the case was scheduled to be heard at the LHC, but PMDC’s counsel, Barrister Haris Azmat, sought additional time from the court to file their reply, which the court granted, adjourning further proceedings. The MBBS students’ case is scheduled for October 16th, while the hearing date for the graduate students’ case has yet to be announced. The PMDC directives remain suspended until the next court hearing.
After the court hearing, speaking to the media, Advocate Asad Jamal remarked, “I really hope that the PMDC will withdraw these notifications and that sense will prevail.” Advocate Asad Jamal also told the media that there are around 50 students in the LHC alone who are being represented in various petitions filed by Afghan students. Advocate Jamal is also representing graduate students who, even after completing five years of MBBS education, are being denied their degrees. He said, “It is the primary responsibility and obligation of the college or institution to register the students, not the students themselves. If the students are not registered, the responsibility lies entirely with the institution and the PMDC.”
Representatives of the Progressive Students Collective and the student body in Lahore also accompanied the Afghan students to their court hearing to show solidarity with them. PSC spokesperson Sara Ali, speaking to the media, said that 80% of the Afghan students are on scholarships offered by the Government of Pakistan to international students. However, no deportation orders have been issued for students of any other nationality, only Afghan nationals have been singled out. With extreme mala fide procedures and intent, their batches have not been registered by the PMDC since 2021, so that today they can be labeled unregistered and illegal. The pending and unanswered student visa applications for months are further proof of this. She added, while speaking to The Students Herald, that “the policy of collective punishment by the Pakistani government is not based on the principles of justice and fairness, and the decision to expel innocent Afghan students based on the actions of the Afghan government, which is not even a legitimate government and does not represent the will of the people, is unfair to these students. Expelling them is condemning them to a fate worse than hell.”
