PHC stays deportation of Afghan medical students
Issues notices, seeks replies in 14 days; directs petitioners to continue studies till next hearing
On Monday, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) temporarily halted the forced deportation of Afghan medical and dental students studying in various colleges across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. A two-judge bench of Justice Waqar Ahmad and Justice Farah Jamshed heard a petition filed by 14 Afghan students, represented by lawyer Waseemuddin Khattak.
The students had been admitted to their respective institutions through the Afghan quota system, with Higher Education Commission (HEC) no objection certificates (NOCs) issued to facilitate their visas. However, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) had issued cancellation notices on July 31 and September 1, ordering the students to return to Afghanistan.
Khattak argued that these cancellations were made without a show-cause notice, contravening the Constitution of Pakistan and international law. He also pointed out that the PMDC's actions contradicted the NOCs given by the HEC and pointed out that the PMDC lacked the authority to take such actions. The court stayed the forced deportation of the 14 students, gave the respondents until October 12 to respond, and allowed the students to continue their education in the meantime.
Written by urgent.news from The Express Tribune - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
