Pakistan courts suspend order expelling Afghan medical students

Overview

Updated Yesterday

Pakistan's medical regulator ordered Afghan students in medical and dental programs to leave their colleges and return to Afghanistan. On September 18, the Lahore High Court extended a stay blocking that order for more than 100 students.

Many arrived on a Pakistani government scholarship after fleeing Taliban rule. For the women among them, going home means ending their medical training — the Taliban bars women from university education.

Why it matters

If the expulsion order stands, Afghan medical students lose years of training, and women lose their only route to a degree.

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Key Indicators

100+

Afghan medical students covered by the Lahore High Court stay

The extended stay protects students across Punjab institutions from expulsion until the next hearing.

Karachi students shielded by the Sindh High Court

Sindh High Court suspended the PMDC notices for these students, with relief running until a September 29 hearing.

Students who filed the initial Lahore petitions

Seven women and six men challenged the PMDC directives as illegal and unconstitutional.

KEMU students told to vacate within 24 hours

King Edward Medical University was among the first colleges to act on the directive; seven of the students were in their final year.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

People Involved

Justice Khalid Ishaq

Lahore High Court judge

Presiding over petitions by Afghan medical students; suspended and extended the stay on PMDC directives

Nilofar Nikzad

Afghan medical student and petitioner

Awaiting court ruling on the validity of the PMDC directives

Organizations Involved

Pakistan Medical and Dental Council

Medical regulator

Issued the directives requiring Afghan students to return to Afghanistan; defending them in court

The statutory regulator overseeing medical and dental education and practice in Pakistan.

Lahore High Court

Court

Suspended and extended the stay on PMDC directives for Punjab students

Provincial high court hearing constitutional challenges to the PMDC expulsion order.

Higher Education Commission

Government agency

Administers the Allama Iqbal Scholarship for Afghan students

Pakistan's federal body overseeing higher education, which runs the scholarship program for Afghan students.

King Edward Medical University

Public university

One of the first colleges to act on the PMDC directive; named as a respondent in court petitions

One of Pakistan's oldest and most prominent medical universities, based in Lahore.

Timeline

July 2026 September 2026

6 events Latest: 3 days ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

September 2026
Lahore High Court extends stay on expulsions
Latest Legal

The Lahore High Court extends the stay blocking expulsion of over 100 Afghan medical students until the next hearing.
3 days ago
Sindh High Court shields 34 Karachi students
Legal

The Sindh High Court grants interim relief to 34 Afghan students, suspending PMDC notices until a September 29 hearing.
7 days ago
Lahore High Court suspends PMDC directives
Legal

Justice Khalid Ishaq suspends the directives for Punjab students, allowing them to continue studies, sit exams, and return to hostels.
September 11th, 2026
KEMU gives 20 Afghan students 24 hours to leave
Policy

King Edward Medical University orders 20 Afghan MBBS students, seven in their final year, to report and vacate hostels within 24 hours.
September 8th, 2026
PMDC reinforces expulsion order, bars new admissions
Regulation

PMDC tells colleges that no Afghan nationals may be admitted, transferred, or otherwise facilitated for the current academic year.
September 1st, 2026
July 2026
PMDC orders Afghan medical students to return home
Regulation

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council issues a directive requiring Afghan students in medical and dental programs to leave their colleges and return to Afghanistan.
July 31st, 2026

Scenarios

Courts Stand Firm, Students Complete Degrees

Likely Resolves by Jan 31, 2027

Discussed by: Student petitioners and their counsel, who argue PMDC exceeded its authority under the PMDC Act

The Lahore and Sindh High Courts issue final rulings keeping the stays in place, allowing Afghan students to finish their medical education. Courts could order PMDC to register the students and void the repatriation directive. Justice Ishaq already signaled this direction, telling the government that if it intends to send students back, it should first let them complete their training.

Government Prevails, Students Ordered Home

Possible Resolves by Jan 31, 2027

Discussed by: PMDC counsel, who defended the directive on national security grounds and argued students lack valid visas

An appellate court or the Supreme Court overturns the stays, or the government escalates the policy, forcing students to leave before completing their degrees. This would also bar new Afghan admissions for coming academic years. The regulator's national security framing, rejected so far at the Lahore High Court, would carry the day on appeal.

Partial Compromise: Final-Year Students Stay, New Admissions End

Possible Resolves by Jan 31, 2027

Discussed by: Court guidance that students should first complete their training if the government intends to send them back

Courts or PMDC allow students already enrolled, especially those in final years, to finish their degrees while barring new Afghan admissions for the coming academic years. This threads the needle between the regulator's security rationale and the students' years of investment in their training.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

January-June 2018

US courts weigh travel ban against universities (2017-2018)

After the Trump administration's travel ban targeted nationals of several Muslim-majority countries, universities and states sued. Federal courts issued injunctions blocking the ban, and the Supreme Court upheld a revised version in June 2018.

Then

Court injunctions temporarily protected affected foreign students and faculty from the ban's impact.

Now

The case settled the constitutional limits of executive power over foreign nationals' entry, granting presidents wide authority while leaving consular discretion intact.

Why this matters now

Like the Pakistani courts now, US courts became the arena where a government order affecting foreign students was tested and, at least initially, blocked.

December 2022

Taliban bans women from university education (December 2022)

On December 21, 2022, the Taliban barred Afghan women from attending universities, weeks after restricting secondary schooling. Female students, many close to graduation, were locked out of campuses across the country.

Then

Thousands of women lost access to higher education overnight; some sought scholarships abroad.

Now

Women's higher education in Afghanistan collapsed, deepening dependence on study-abroad programs like the Allama Iqbal Scholarship.

Why this matters now

Several students now facing expulsion fled Afghanistan specifically to continue medical training that is barred to women at home.

October-November 2023

Pakistan orders undocumented Afghan refugees to leave (2023)

Pakistan ordered all undocumented foreign nationals, mostly Afghans, to leave or face arrest, triggering mass departures and border crossings in October and November 2023.

Then

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans returned to Afghanistan under the threat of detention.

Now

Pakistan's stance toward Afghan migrants and refugees hardened and remains a live political issue.

Why this matters now

The PMDC expulsion order follows the same direction of travel in Pakistan's treatment of Afghans, testing whether students get different treatment from other migrants.