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Nearly 200 Afghan medical and dental students enrolled in Pakistani institutions face an uncertain future following an expulsion directive issued by Pakistan’s Medical and Dental Council on September 1. The regulatory body ordered universities and colleges to remove all Afghan students and halt new admissions from the country, providing institutions with minimal notice to implement the decision.
The students, many of whom were admitted through the Allama Iqbal Scholarship program—a bilateral initiative between Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission and the Pakistani embassy in Kabul—claim they were never informed of additional registration requirements with the council. Several institutions gave students fewer than three days to vacate their dormitories, despite some having studied in Pakistan for multiple years with full government sponsorship.
A temporary reprieve came on September 11 when Lahore High Court suspended the expulsion order after hearing petitions from affected students. The court noted the sudden policy shift, with one judge remarking that students previously considered “favoured children” were now being forced to leave without opportunity to respond. The case will return to court on September 18, during which time students are permitted to continue their studies and examinations.
The expulsion order coincides with escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government, following a spike in cross-border attacks and alleged involvement of Afghan nationals in domestic security incidents. Pakistani authorities have been conducting a broader repatriation campaign targeting undocumented migrants since late 2023.
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Originally reported by Aljazeera →
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