LAHORE – The Lahore High Court (LHC) has restrained medical colleges across Punjab from expelling Afghan students while it considers petitions challenging their removal from medical institutions.
Justice Khalid Ishaq passed the directions during a hearing involving petitions submitted by more than 30 Afghan medical students who contested decisions affecting their studies.
Representing the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC), the council’s lawyer maintained that the students lacked the documentation required for their continued stay in Pakistan, stressing that a valid visa is necessary to remain in the country.
The court questioned why the students had initially been issued education visas and permitted to enroll in medical colleges if their documentation was subsequently deemed insufficient. Justice Ishaq also questioned the decision to remove students after they had already spent around four years pursuing their medical education.
The judge observed that the students should have been given an opportunity to present their position before action was taken against them.
The PM&DC counsel argued that the issue involved state security and referred to visa requirements in the United States. The court, however, rejected the state-security justification presented during the proceedings.
Justice Ishaq remarked that the students could potentially be sent back after completing their medical education.
As an interim measure, the LHC ordered medical colleges not to expel the Afghan students or cancel their examination papers. The court adjourned further proceedings until next Friday.
The ruling follows a clarification issued by the PM&DC a day earlier, stating that Pakistani regulations do not impose a nationality-based ban on medical education.
The council said its review of Afghan medical students concerns regulatory requirements and documentation and should not be viewed as discrimination based on nationality.
