Afghan medical students return to Lahore dorms after court decision

Afghan medical students in Lahore tell Amu TV they have been allowed to return to university dormitories after a court temporarily blocked their expulsion, but students elsewhere in Pakistan remain unable to return to their campuses and face uncertainty over their education. The Lahore High Court suspended implementation of a Pakistan Medical and Dental Council order affecting Afghan medical students until the court’s next hearing, scheduled for Sept. 18. Under the court order, Afghan students covered by the case can continue their studies, take examinations, participate in practical and clinical training and use university dormitories. Students told Amu TV that universities in Lahore have since instructed Afghan students to remain in their dormitories. But they said the situation remains unresolved in other parts of Pakistan, particularly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Sediq Shariati, head of the Afghan Students Council in Pakistan, said some students with valid study visas had also been forced to leave their universities. “Students who had study visas were also included,” Shariati told Amu TV. “But they were forced to leave their universities and are now renting rooms outside universities in Pakistan’s provinces until these problems are resolved and they can return to their universities and dormitories.” The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, or PMDC, has issued notices calling for the removal of Afghan medical students and previously told Amu TV that it was implementing policies set by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, however, has previously said students with valid visas can continue their studies. Afghan students say the broader problem is that Pakistan has stopped issuing visas to Afghan students for the past 14 months. Haider Butt, a lawyer representing the students, said the decision also affects Afghan women, who face sweeping restrictions on education under Taliban rule in Afghanistan. “This decision also includes women,” Butt said. “We know that since the Taliban came to power, women have faced a ban on education. Pakistan, where women themselves can study, wants to send women to a country where they do not have the right to education.” He described the decision as “condemnable, inhumane and illegal.” Afghan students are calling on the PMDC to withdraw its decision altogether. Hemat Ali Fayaz, a final-year student at a university in Islamabad, said he was selected for an Allama Iqbal scholarship in 2021 and that the students have legal visas. “Following the Lahore High Court decision, some universities have allowed students to stay, but the situation is still uncertain,” Fayaz told Amu TV. Rahmat Gul Omarzai, a final-year student at a medical university in Rawalpindi, called on Pakistani authorities to reconsider the decision. “We ask the Pakistani government and the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council to reconsider their decision regarding Afghan students and facilitate their education so that their time is n