Islamabad: Medical and dental universities and colleges across Pakistan have started asking Afghan students, including final-year MBBS students, to discontinue their education and return home, prompting the Afghan embassy to urge authorities to let them complete their degrees.
Among the institutions that have issued notices are King Edward Medical University (KEMU), Lahore, and Fatima Jinnah Medical College (FJMC), Lahore. They have asked Afghan students to complete formalities for leaving their institutions within 24 hours.
The notices were issued with reference to a Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) letter dated September 1, 2026, concerning Afghan nationals enrolled in medical and dental institutions.
The KEMU notice applies to 22 Afghan students enrolled in different years of the MBBS programme. Several are in the final year, while two have recently completed their degrees.
Similarly, FJMC has asked 21 Afghan students enrolled from the first to fifth year of MBBS to complete the required formalities. Several of them are in their final professional year.
Officials said similar directions had been conveyed to medical and dental institutions in other parts of the country. Around 200 Afghan students are studying medicine and dentistry in public and private institutions in Pakistan and are being asked to return home, they added.
The PMDC decision also stops new admissions, transfers and migration of Afghan students in Pakistani medical and dental institutions until further orders, officials said.
The development has created uncertainty for students who have spent several years studying in Pakistan and are close to completing their degrees. Final-year students have already completed most of their academic work and clinical training, but are now being asked to leave before finishing their education.
The Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad expressed deep concern over the decision, describing it as forced deportation of Afghan medical students currently pursuing their studies in Pakistan.
In a statement, the embassy said the move would seriously affect the academic progress and future of students who had begun their studies through lawful procedures and were now close to completing their programmes after years of effort and considerable personal and financial investment.
It called upon Pakistani educational authorities, as well as international medical, educational, humanitarian and professional institutions, to safeguard the academic rights of Afghan students and ensure that they were able to complete their studies without interruption or undue obstacles.
The embassy said knowledge, education and human relations should remain protected from political disagreements. It added that academic and educational opportunities should not be adversely affected by political differences or developments.
Educationists say the authorities should at least allow students nearing graduation to complete their examinations and degrees. They argue that students who have spent four or five years in Pakistani institutions should not be sent back without a clear plan for their academic records, transfer of credits and future clinical training.
They also questioned whether Afghan institutions would accept these students and recognise the years of study they have completed in Pakistan, especially when Afghanistan itself is facing serious problems in medical education and healthcare.
Pakistani officials defended the decision, saying Pakistan wanted Afghanistan, a brotherly country, to improve its own medical education system and produce doctors for its people. They said Afghanistan needs trained health professionals, particularly after restrictions on female education and medical training raised fears of a shortage of women doctors and health workers.
Critics, however, warned that the move could create resentment among Afghan students who have lived and studied in Pakistan for years. They said other countries, including those not friendly towards Pakistan, could offer them scholarships and educational opportunities and use the situation to turn them against Pakistan.
The development comes shortly after Pakistan advised 79 Palestinian medical students from Gaza to return home after completing their clinical training in Pakistan. However, the Afghan students’ case is different, as they were formally admitted to Pakistani medical and dental institutions and many have already spent years studying and training in the country.
The PMDC and the health ministry now need to explain whether Afghan students, especially those in their final year, will be allowed to complete their degrees or will be required to leave without finishing their education.
Ends