Sindh High Court suspends order preventing Afghan medical students from taking classes

The Sindh High Court suspended on Monday the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s (PMDC) directive requiring Afghan medical students enrolled in Pakistani colleges to return to Afghanistan, barring authorities from taking coercive action against the petitioners until the next hearing on Sept. 29.

A two-judge bench, led by Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, issued the stay order after three Afghan students challenged the notification. The court strictly barred authorities from taking any coercive action against the petitioners and issued formal notices to the federal government, the Interior Ministry, the PMDC, the Higher Education Commission (HEC), and law enforcement.

Advocate Iftikhar Shah, representing the petitioners, informed the court that Jinnah Sindh Medical University had barred Afghan students from attending classes and had revoked their biometric access.

Counsel for the PMDC argued before the court that they had not been provided with copies of the petition. In response, the court directed that copies of the applications be immediately provided to the PMDC lawyer.

When was the ban imposed?

PMDC issued directives on Sept. 1, ordering Afghan medical students enrolled in Pakistani medical and dental colleges to return to Afghanistan. The directive also barred medical and dental institutions from admitting or placing Afghan students during the current academic session.

The petition was initiated by three final-year MBBS students enrolled at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS). They have arrived in Pakistan legally, holding valid study visas on their Afghan passports, and are currently studying under the government-funded Allama Mohammad Iqbal Scholarship Programme, petitioners. They are scheduled to graduate in April 2027.

The students argued that the PMDC’s action violated several provisions of Pakistan’s constitution, including protections relating to equality, life and liberty, dignity, due process and freedom from discrimination.

The petition also raised concerns about the impact of returning female Afghan students to Afghanistan, where women and girls face severe restrictions on access to education. Students argued that forced return could jeopardize their education and professional careers.

Petitioners asked the court to declare the PMDC directives and related notices issued by Dow University unconstitutional and without legal authority.

The petitioners also asked the court to allow them to continue their MBBS studies, attend clinical rotations, live in university hostels and sit their examinations without interference.

PMDC order challenged in courts

The Sindh High Court case follows a separate challenge before the Lahore High Court, which on September 18, also suspended the operation of PMDC directives requiring Afghan medical students to return to Afghanistan.

Justice Khalid Ishaq ordered that the directives issued on July 31 and Sept. 1 remain suspended to the extent of the petitioners and directed that 13 Afghan students in Lahore should be allowed to continue their studies, take examinations and return to their hostels. The court fixed Sept. 18 for next hearing of this case.

Case in Lahore High Court was filed by 13 Afghan students, including seven women and six men, studying at institutions including King Edward Medical University, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Medical and Dental College and the Services Institute of Medical Sciences.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said there is no blanket government decision to return all Afghan students and that Afghan students enrolled in valid degree programs with valid visas can remain in Pakistan and complete their education. The PMDC, however, has said its Sept. 1 directive requires previously enrolled Afghan medical and dental students to return.

The legal challenges come amid deteriorating relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan and a broader Pakistani campaign to enforce immigration rules on Afghan nationals without valid visas.