Pakistan Court Blocks Expulsion Order Targeting Afghan Medical Students

A Pakistani court has temporarily blocked an official directive that ordered the expulsion of over a hundred Afghan nationals studying medicine and dentistry across the country. According to judicial documents reviewed by AFP, the Lahore High Court extended a stay order preventing academic institutions from removing the students until the next scheduled hearing. Justice Khalid Ishaq presided over the case but did not immediately set a specific date for future proceedings.

The legal challenge stems from a directive issued earlier in the month by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). In a formal communication sent to academic administrators, the council stated that no form of facilitation for Afghan nationals would be permitted for the current academic session. The instructions mandated that all Afghan students previously enrolled in medical or dental programs across Pakistan must return to Afghanistan.

While the PMDC document did not explicitly name the specific authority behind the decision, it characterized the matter as being of the highest priority and tied directly to national policy directions. The council did not respond to requests for comment regarding the directive. Legal representatives for the affected students have argued that the administrative orders were issued without granting the medical trainees any opportunity to present their case or be heard.

The court intervention has offered temporary relief to students facing sudden disruption to their education. Mubin Ulfati, a 24-year-old final-year medical student in Lahore, expressed confidence in the legal process following Friday's hearing, noting that education is recognized as a fundamental human right. However, other students affected by the policy continue to experience severe uncertainty, with some academic records reportedly removed from university online platforms despite intervening provincial-level suspensions.

The situation for Afghan students in Pakistan unfolds against a backdrop of deteriorating diplomatic and political relations between Islamabad and Kabul, which have faced significant strains since the Taliban administration returned to power in 2021. In the intervening years, Islamabad has pursued a large-scale deportation and repatriation initiative. According to United Nations figures, more than 2.5 million Afghans, many of whom lived in Pakistan for decades as refugees, have left the country or been expelled over the past three years.

International human rights organizations have strongly criticized the PMDC expulsion order. Amnesty International characterized the measure as discriminatory and arbitrary, while Human Rights Watch called upon authorities to rescind the directive entirely, drawing particular attention to the severe plight of female scholars who face a complete ban on university education under the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

Among those petitioning the court in Lahore are female scholarship recipients who fled educational restrictions in their home country. One 23-year-old student, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, noted that she was one of a very small group of Afghan women to secure a scholarship in Pakistan, only to face removal just days before completing her second-year examinations.

Legal challenges against the PMDC order vary across Pakistan's provinces. While the Lahore High Court has extended its protective stay order, a similar petition was previously dismissed by officials in Balochistan province, and another legal challenge remains active in Sindh. Asad Jamal, one of the attorneys representing the Lahore petitioners, indicated that if the current provincial challenge fails, the legal team is prepared to escalate the case to Pakistan's Federal Constitutional Court.

Meanwhile, some Afghan medical trainees had already been deported or forced to leave prior to the formal PMDC directive, encountering visa renewal obstacles or sudden administrative interruptions during clinical training. As legal proceedings continue, affected students maintain that their primary focus remains completing their medical training before eventually returning to their home country.