Afghan medical students seek relief on humanitarian grounds
PESHAWAR: Afghan medical students have been going through hard times amid temporary relief provided to them by provincial high courts against the directives of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council about termination of their admissions. “Courts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Punjab provinces have issued stay orders against our expulsion from colleges but the response of PMDC is awaited,”…
PESHAWAR: Afghan medical students are experiencing hardship while receiving temporary relief from provincial high courts, despite directives from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council to terminate their admissions. Anayatullah Mohmand, a focal point for Afghan medical students, requested the Pakistani government to allow them to complete their degrees on humanitarian grounds.
He emphasized that while courts have provided temporary relief, the issue will persist until the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council responds to their stay orders.
The demand for exemption from the government's expulsion policy has been raised, as Afghan students await the PMDC's response. Over 1,000 Afghan students, including 350 girls, are currently studying in various medical and dental colleges across Pakistan. Approximately 800 of them were part of the Higher Education Commission’s Allama Iqbal Scholarship programme, for which they had taken entrance tests in Afghanistan.
There are 12 reserved seats for Afghan students through the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT), while others, mostly in engineering, BS, and other disciplines, are accepted under the Pakistan Technical Assistance Programme. Some students also enroll through self-financing schemes.
Colleges in Punjab and Sindh have compiled information regarding Afghan students in accordance with the PMDC's notification, which requires Afghan nationals enrolled in medical or dental programs in Pakistan to return to Afghanistan. The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has asked institutions to issue no objection certificates (NoCs) to support the departure of Afghan students.
The KMU has begun collecting details about Afghan students, and medical and dental colleges are preparing detailed marks certificates (DMCs) and NoCs for their students' impending deportation, contingent on final court decisions. These students, who have been studying in Pakistan for one to five years under a government program, argue that the government should permit them to complete their studies, despite not objecting to the policy for new student registrations.
The constant tension among young Afghan women is that their careers will be ended. A senior health official stated that the matter is related to national security and that the PMDC is taking time to respond to the courts, as it requires the version of the interior ministry.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
