Pakistan’s Sindh High Court has suspended a directive issued by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) that required Afghan medical students to return to Afghanistan before completing their studies, granting temporary relief to dozens of students enrolled at medical institutions in Karachi.
The court issued an interim order staying the PMDC notification and barred Pakistani authorities from taking coercive action against the affected students until September 29, according to Pakistani media reports.
The ruling follows two separate petitions challenging the PMDC directive. One petition was filed by three final-year Afghan medical students studying at Dow Medical College, while the second represented 31 Afghan medical students enrolled at Dow University of Health Sciences, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and several other medical institutions in Karachi.
The petitioners argued that forcing Afghan students to leave Pakistan before completing their degrees would disrupt years of medical education and jeopardize their professional futures. They also maintained that many students had been admitted under Pakistan’s educational framework and should be allowed to complete their programs.
In its interim order, the Sindh High Court said the challenged notifications would remain suspended until the next hearing and instructed authorities not to initiate deportation or other enforcement measures against the petitioners during that period.
The case comes as Pakistan has intensified its campaign against undocumented foreign nationals, including Afghans, and has increased pressure on thousands of Afghan refugees and students living in the country. Rights groups and international organizations have warned that the policy could affect Afghans with pending asylum claims, students and families who have lived in Pakistan for years.
Pakistan hosts one of the world’s largest Afghan refugee populations. Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, thousands of Afghan students have continued their education in Pakistani universities, particularly in medical and higher education institutions.
The Sindh High Court’s decision provides temporary protection for the students, but the legal challenge against the PMDC directive remains pending as the court considers the petitions.
