September 11, 2026
By Aitzaz Ibraim
Lahore
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday restrained medical colleges across Punjab from expelling Afghan students and suspended until the next hearing a Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) directive requiring those enrolled in medical and dental programmes in Pakistan to return to Afghanistan.
Under the PMDC directive, medical and dental institutions were asked to facilitate the return of already-enrolled Afghan students to Afghanistan. The council also barred the admission, placement, transfer or migration of Afghan nationals in medical and dental institutions during the current academic session.
Justice Khalid Ishaq passed the interim order while hearing together three petitions filed on behalf of Afghan medical students challenging the PMDC directives and subsequent action by educational institutions.
One of the petitions was filed by Afghan medical student Nilofar Nikzad and other petitioners, challenging PMDC directives dated July 31 and September 1 and seeking protection against their removal from educational institutions and hostels.
A second petition was filed by the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell (AGHS) on behalf of four female Afghan students of Fatima Jinnah Medical University, while the third petition was filed by Advocate Junaid Iqbal Khan on behalf of 30 Afghan medical students.
The court ordered that no medical college should expel an Afghan student, cancel their examination or create any obstacle to their academic activities or hostel residence until the next hearing. Notices were also issued to the respondents, with further proceedings adjourned until next Friday.
What happened in court
During the hearing, PMDC counsel Barrister Haris Azmat told the court that the Afghan students did not possess valid visas, arguing that a person could not remain in a country without a valid visa.
Justice Khalid Ishaq questioned how the students had been issued education visas when they were admitted to medical institutions in Pakistan.
“You have wasted four years of their lives and are now sending them back,” Justice Ishaq remarked.
The judge also questioned the manner in which the PMDC notification had been issued, remarking that the council had received a “royal command” following which it issued the notification.
The court observed that the students should at least have been given an opportunity to be heard before being removed from their institutions.
“When there was affection for them, you were announcing it to the whole world,” Justice Ishaq remarked.
Barrister Azmat maintained that the principle was the same around the world and that a person without a valid visa could not be allowed to remain in a country.
“Until yesterday they were the favourite child; today the policy has changed,” Justice Ishaq responded.
The judge further remarked that if the authorities intended to send the students back to Afghanistan, they should allow them to complete their medical education before doing so.
During another exchange, the PMDC counsel referred to the United States, arguing that a person could not remain there without a valid visa either.
“The courts in America are independent, and the courts in Pakistan are also independent,” Justice Ishaq remarked in response.
At another point during the proceedings, the judge remarked: “You might as well give these students the death penalty.”
Barrister Azmat then submitted that the issue concerned state security.
“There is no issue of state security,” Justice Ishaq remarked.
Following the arguments, the court directed that no medical college should remove any of the affected students or cancel their examinations and that there should be no obstruction to their academic activities or hostel accommodation until the next hearing.
Students dispute visa claim
Speaking to Voicepk after the hearing, Saeed Mubin, an Afghan final-year medical student studying at Allama Iqbal Medical College on a scholarship, said the students did not know why they were suddenly being asked to leave their institutions.
“We do not know why we are being expelled. Suddenly, a PMDC notification came and we were told to leave our educational institutions and hostels within 24 hours,” Mubeen told Voicepk.
He said some students who had already been removed from universities and hostels were now staying in shelter homes.
Another Afghan medical student, currently in the fourth year of his medical degree, welcomed the LHC order and disputed the position taken by the PMDC counsel regarding the students’ immigration status.
He told Voicepk that the students had entered Pakistan on valid visas and said they had not expected to face such treatment.
According to the student, around 200 Afghan medical students are studying in Punjab, including nearly 100 in Lahore.
“We did not expect that we would be treated this way. We have nothing to do with politics,” he told Voicepk.
The student expressed hope that the final decision would be in their favour.
The students’ claim regarding their visa status differs from the position taken by the PMDC counsel before the court, who maintained that they did not possess valid visas.
Counsel details interim relief
Advocate Junaid Iqbal Khan, who represents 30 Afghan students in one of the three petitions, told Voicepk that the court had provided immediate relief to the students until the next hearing.
Khan said the court had ordered the continuation of their academic activities and restrained medical colleges and universities from creating any obstacle for the affected Afghan students.He said the order also protected their hostel accommodation until the next hearing.
The petitions challenge the PMDC directives affecting Afghan nationals already enrolled in medical and dental institutions and seek permission for the students to continue their education in Pakistan.