PHC stays deportation of 86 Afghan medical students

Peshawar High Court has temporarily halted the deportation of 86 Afghan students studying in various public sector medical colleges in the province, allowing them to continue their education. A three-judge bench, comprising Justice Wiqar Ahmad, Justice Farah Jamshed, and Justice Aisha Khan, issued notices to key respondents, including the federal interior secretary, director general of immigration and passport, and the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s registrar, requesting their comments on a petition filed jointly by the 86 students, including Selsela Dost.

The court ordered the hearing to continue on October 12, with the direction that the petitioners should not be deported in the meantime. The court also directed that the current petition should be combined with an earlier one filed by Afghan student Seemen Noori on the same issue. Lawyers argue that the impugned letters issued by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) on July 31 and September 1, 2026, which required the students to discontinue their studies and leave Pakistan immediately, are illegal and arbitrary.

The petitioners argue that they were granted admission to medical and dental colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and were studying in their respective professional years when the PMDC issued a cancellation order. They maintain that they entered Pakistan legally on student visas, and their fundamental rights to education, life, and dignity have been violated.