Sindh High Court orders Jinnah Medical University to restore

Sindh High Court has ordered Jinnah Sindh Medical University to restore Afghan students' access to classes and extended protection against eviction from hostels. The court's order covers students challenging directives linked to their continued medical education in Pakistan. Court extends protection against eviction, hostel dispossession 29 students in one petition, three in another get relief KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday ordered Jinnah Sindh Medical University to allow Afghan students to resume classes and extended temporary protection to students who had challenged a directive seeking their eviction from Pakistan. The high court had suspended the directive for students who filed petitions on Sept 14. During Tuesday's hearing, Advocate Iftikhar Shah, counsel for the Afghan students, told the court that Jinnah Sindh Medical University had nevertheless barred Afghan students from attending classes, disabled their biometric access and initiated steps to evict them from university hostels. The court ordered the university to restore their access and directed that their education should not be disrupted until the next hearing. 'The earlier protection granted by the court remains in place. The students can continue their studies and the court has also protected them from being evicted from their hostels,' the lawyer said. Shah said the relief covered 29 students in one petition and three in another. He added that the final number of petitioners should be verified against the written order, which had not been issued when he spoke to Arab News. According to Shah, a lawyer representing the medical regulator told the court on Tuesday that it had not received copies of the petitions. The court directed that copies be supplied and adjourned the case pending the regulator's response, without fixing a new date for the next hearing. The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), which regulates medical education, told colleges this month to arrange for enrolled Afghan students to return to Afghanistan and barred new admissions or placements for Afghan nationals during the current academic year. The Foreign Office has said students holding valid visas and enrolled in recognised courses can complete their education, leaving uncertainty over how the regulator's directive applies to them. Courts in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have already granted temporary relief in cases before them, while the Balochistan High Court dismissed a petition filed by Afghan nationals seeking to continue their medical education and training. Separately, an Islamabad court has protected an Afghan doctor undergoing postgraduate training.