LHC Extends Suspension of PMDC Directive for Afghan Medical Students' Return

An exterior view of the historic Lahore High Court building in Lahore, featuring its distinctive architecture, domes and arched façade. The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday extended the suspension of a PMDC directive ordering Afghan medical students enrolled in Pakistani institutions to return to Afghanistan, after lawyers representing the PMDC and the University of Health Sciences sought additional time to submit their replies. The PMDC had issued a notification on September 1 directing Afghan medical students enrolled in Pakistani medical colleges to return to Afghanistan. The notification also barred medical and dental colleges from granting admissions or placements to Afghan students for the current academic session. The directive was subsequently challenged before the Lahore High Court by 13 Afghan medical students enrolled at different institutions in Lahore, including King Edward Medical University, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Medical and Dental College and the Services Institute of Medical Sciences. During the previous hearing on September 11, Justice Khalid Ishaq had sought responses from the PMDC, the Ministry of Health and the vice chancellors of the medical universities and colleges concerned. At Friday's hearing, lawyers representing the PMDC and the University of Health Sciences appeared before the court and requested additional time to submit their written replies. The court accepted the requests and adjourned the hearing to a date to be fixed later. The court also heard a separate petition filed by five Afghan medical graduates who completed their MBBS programmes in Pakistan during the 2021-2026 session under the Higher Education Commission-administered Allama Iqbal Scholarship. The graduates told the court that their applications for PMDC registration had remained undecided for months. They argued that the lack of registration prevented them from enrolling in the mandatory one-year house job required for medical practice in Pakistan. The petitioners maintained that PMDC regulations introduced in 2025 provided graduating students with a right to house-job placement at their affiliated teaching hospitals. They further argued that the PMDC's governing 2022 Act did not give the council the authority to order their deportation. Advocate Asad Jamal, representing the graduates, told the court that his clients had a legitimate expectation of being allowed to undertake their house jobs after completing their medical education. Justice Khalid Ishaq questioned the petitioners' counsel on how the graduates could claim a right to a one-year house job in view of Pakistan's current foreign policy. The judge also questioned why the graduates sought to remain in Pakistan after completing their MBBS programmes. The court directed the petitioners' counsel to satisfy it regarding the maintainability of their petitions, particularly in light of Pakistan's current foreign policy. The petition filed by the five graduates was clubbed with the petitions submitted earlier by the 13 Afghan medical students. A large number of Afghan medical students were also present at the Lahore High Court during the hearing. The court proceedings come against the backdrop of Pakistan's continuing policy concerning the repatriation of Afghan nationals. Pakistan launched a nationwide deportation drive for undocumented foreign nationals in 2023, with the policy subsequently expanded to cover other categories of Afghan nationals. According to figures presented before a Senate standing committee, Pakistan deported or repatriated 1,155,221 Afghan nationals during 2025. The figure included Proof of Registration card holders, Afghan Citizen Card holders, undocumented individuals and voluntary returnees. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has also reported continued returns of Afghans from Pakistan and Iran during 2026. According to figures cited by Dawn, nearly 150,000 Afghans had returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran by mid-February 2026, adding to millions of returns since October 2023. The Ministry of Interior also issued a directive in June ordering the immediate arrest of Afghan nationals found residing in Pakistan without a valid visa. The Lahore High Court's latest order does not finally determine the legal status of the PMDC directive. The court is expected to consider the responses from the PMDC, health authorities and relevant educational institutions before proceeding further with the petitions. The case therefore remains pending, with the court's next hearing expected to address the legal challenges to the PMDC directive and the petitions filed by Afghan medical students and graduates seeking continuation of their education and, in the case of graduates, access to house-job placements.