Pakistan’s Medical Regulator Orders Afghan Students Home, Halts New Admissions

In a move that has left dozens of Afghan scholars scrambling, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) issued a directive on September 1 ordering every Afghan student currently enrolled in medical or dental programs across the country to return to Afghanistan. The order, framed as a “national policy directive,” also forbids any new admissions of Afghan nationals and blocks transfers or migrations between institutions.

The ban applies uniformly to public and private colleges, meaning that students in the middle of a five‑year MBBS or BDS degree are now faced with an abrupt disruption. Universities have been asked to issue no‑objection certificates, record the students’ graduation status if they have already finished, and arrange for their departure.

King Edward Medical University in Lahore, for example, identified 22 Afghan nationals affected by the ruling – twenty still studying (spanning second to final year) and two recent graduates. Six of those are in their last year, staring at a future that suddenly looks uncertain.

It isn’t just the students who feel the pinch. Institutions must now compile detailed lists of Afghan enrolments and submit them to the council, a bureaucratic task that adds to the administrative burden already weighing on the higher‑education sector.

Earlier this month the council also stopped recognising medical and dental degrees issued by Afghan universities for licensing or practice in Pakistan, saying those schools do not appear on its list of recognised foreign institutions. Together, the two decisions hit Afghans at every stage – from hopeful applicants to graduates eyeing a career in Pakistan.

While the PM&DC has not spelled out a detailed justification beyond “policy guidance,” the timing aligns with a broader chill in Pakistan‑Afghanistan relations. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban‑led Kabul government of tolerating the Tehreek‑e‑Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant outfits, accusations that Kabul rejects. Border skirmishes and diplomatic rows have added to the pressure on Afghans living, studying, or working in Pakistan.

For the students themselves, the order raises very personal concerns: years of tuition fees, clinical rotations, and personal sacrifices could be for naught if they are forced to abandon their studies before the finish line. The council’s statement that the directive will remain in force “until further notice” suggests that many may remain in limbo for months, if not longer.

As the situation unfolds, families on both sides of the border are watching anxiously, hoping for a diplomatic thaw that might allow a more humane solution for those caught in the crossfire of politics and education.