LHC moved against PMDC's directives for repatriation of Afghan students

LAHORE: Thirteen Afghan medical students on Thursday filed multiple petitions before the Lahore High Court (LHC), challenging directives from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) that ordered their return to Afghanistan. The petitioners, comprising seven women and six men, filed the petitions through Advocate Asad Jamal. They were enrolled at different institutions in Lahore, including King Edward Medical University, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Medical & Dental College and the Services Institute of Medical Sciences. The petitioners said they were removed from their colleges on PMDC’s instructions, with the council acting as the top regulatory body under the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Act 2023 . They argued that PMDC and the medical colleges lacked the legal authority to expel the students.

The petitioners argued that PMDC’s powers must be exercised within the bounds of the Constitution and Pakistan’s international legal obligations, and that neither the 2023 Act nor constitutional or international principles permitted the council to act arbitrarily, particularly against students who had already invested years in their medical education in Lahore and across Punjab. Many of the petitioners hold scholarships under the Higher Education Commission (HEC)-sponsored Allama Iqbal Scholarship programme . The HEC, in July 2025, held a reception to welcome around 350 Afghan students arriving in Pakistan to pursue their studies. Nilofar Nikzad, one of the petitioners, said she had completed two years of medical studies in Afghanistan before being forced to abandon her education there because of Taliban restrictions on women’s access to education. The petitioners said the sudden and disruptive process led to their evictions from hostels by their respective…