Lahore: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday suspended directives issued by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) requiring Afghan medical students studying in Pakistan to return to Afghanistan.
Justice Khalid Ishaq passed the order while hearing petitions filed by 13 Afghan students enrolled at medical 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.
The students approached the court following a PMDC notification issued on September 1 directing Afghan medical students enrolled in Pakistani colleges “to return to Afghanistan”. The directive also prohibited medical and dental institutions from offering admission or placement to Afghan students during the current academic session.
The petitioners challenged both the September 1 notification and an earlier PMDC directive issued on July 31, asking the court to declare the measures “illegal and unconstitutional”, without lawful authority and void from inception.
Advocate Asad Jamal, representing the students, argued that the petitioners had been condemned without being given an opportunity to be heard and that the council had exceeded its jurisdiction under the PMDC Act.
He maintained that the directives violated the students’ fundamental rights, including their rights to education, life and dignity, and argued that they were entitled to treatment in accordance with the law.
PMDC counsel Haris Azmat opposed suspending the directives, arguing that the issue involved “national security”.
Justice Ishaq rejected the argument and ordered the suspension of both the July 31 and September 1 directives.
The court further ordered that the affected Afghan students be permitted to continue their studies, appear in examinations and return to their hostels while the petitions remain under consideration.
The judge also sought responses from the parties concerned, including the PMDC, the Ministry of Health and the vice chancellors of the medical universities and colleges involved in the case.
The matter will next be taken up on September 18.