LHC suspends PMDC orders to expel Afghan medical students

The Lahore High Court on Friday suspended two Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) directives ordering Afghan medical and dental students in Punjab to return to Afghanistan. Justice Khalid Ishaq issued the order while hearing more than 30 petitions filed by Afghan students at institutions including King Edward Medical University. He barred colleges from expelling the students or stopping them from sitting exams while the case is pending.

Why did the Lahore High Court suspend the PMDC orders?

The court suspended the orders after finding the PMDC had not given Afghan students a chance to respond before acting against them. Justice Ishaq rejected the council's national security argument and questioned why colleges had trained the students for years only to expel them mid-course. He ruled that Punjab medical colleges cannot remove Afghan students or bar them from exams until the case is resolved.

What do the petitions against PMDC argue?

The petitions challenge a Sept. 1 PMDC notification directing enrolled Afghan students to leave Pakistan and barring colleges from admitting or placing Afghan nationals this academic session. Students also cited an earlier, similarly worded directive from July 31. Advocate Asad Jamal, representing the petitioners, argued the council's action violated their rights to education, life and dignity, and exceeded its authority under the PMDC Act.

How did the PMDC defend the directives in court?

Advocate Haris Azmat, representing the PMDC, opposed suspending the orders. He argued the matter involved national security and that the students lacked valid visas to remain in Pakistan. Justice Ishaq questioned this reasoning directly, asking how the students had been granted education visas and admitted to the institutions in the first place if their status was now in doubt.

What did the judge say about the case?

Justice Ishaq rejected the national security argument as inapplicable and said Pakistani courts were as independent as courts anywhere else, including the United States. He noted that students once treated as welcome guests were now facing a reversal in policy. He also directed that if the government intends to send the students back, they should first be allowed to complete their medical education.

What happens next?

According to the petitioners, some medical colleges had already begun expelling Afghan students on PMDC instructions before the court intervened. The court ordered that students already removed from hostels be allowed to return, and issued notices to the PMDC, the Ministry of Health and vice chancellors of the named medical universities and colleges, seeking their replies. The case has been adjourned until Sept. 18 for further hearing.