September 18, 2026
By Aitzaz Ibrahim
LAHORE
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday granted the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) more time to submit its response to petitions challenging directives that required Afghan medical students enrolled in Pakistani institutions to return to Afghanistan. The court’s earlier suspension of the directives remains in place.
Justice Khalid Ishaq heard the matter involving several petitions filed on behalf of Afghan medical students studying at different medical institutions in Punjab. Among them is a petition filed by the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell (AGHS) on behalf of four female Afghan students enrolled at Fatima Jinnah Medical University in Lahore, challenging the PMDC directives and seeking protection for the continuation of their medical education.
During Friday’s hearing, PMDC counsel Barrister Haris Azmat sought additional time on behalf of the respondents to file their replies. The court accepted the request and adjourned further proceedings. A date for the next hearing has not yet been announced.
The PMDC directives under challenge were issued on July 31 and September 1. The September directive stated that Afghan nationals already enrolled in medical and dental programmes were required to return to Afghanistan and asked institutions to complete the necessary administrative formalities, including the issuance of no-objection certificates and arrangements for their departure. It also barred medical and dental institutions from granting admission, placement, transfer, migration or other facilitation to Afghan nationals during the current academic session.
PMDC directives remain suspended
Advocate Asad Jamal, representing petitioners in one of the cases, told Voicepk that the respondents were expected to have submitted their replies by Friday, but instead sought additional time from the court.
“The respondents were supposed to have filed their replies today, but they requested more time and the court granted them further time,” Jamal said. He said the petitioners would examine the replies once they were filed and would then determine their response and arguments before the court.
Jamal said the interim relief granted by the LHC remained in force and the challenged PMDC directives would continue to remain suspended until the next hearing.
Asked whether the Afghan students had been able to fully resume their academic activities following the court’s earlier order, Jamal said implementation was taking place gradually.
“Slowly, the colleges and universities are allowing these students to return to their classes, but at some places they are still being troubled,” he told Voicepk.
Jamal also questioned the “national policy” referred to in the PMDC communication as the basis for requiring the students to leave. He said no such policy had been explained or made available to the petitioners and questioned the basis on which the PMDC had referred to it. “I hope PMDC will withdraw this notification,” Jamal added.
LHC had suspended directives on September 11
At the previous hearing on September 11, Justice Khalid Ishaq suspended the operation of the PMDC directives issued on July 31 and September 1 to the extent of the petitioners and ordered that no adverse action be taken against them. The court also allowed the students to continue their education, sit their examinations and return to their hostels.
The court had sought replies from the PMDC, and respondents by September 18.