KABUL (Pajhwok): The Lahore High Court has suspended an order issued by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) requiring Afghan students enrolled in medical and dental programs in Pakistan to return to Afghanistan.
The court has ordered that the affected students be allowed to continue their studies, sit for examinations, and return to their university dormitories.
According to reports, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council had instructed medical and dental universities and colleges across Pakistan to facilitate the return of Afghan students currently enrolled at their institutions and to stop admitting new Afghan students.
Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, had described the decision as “regrettable” and “inhumane.”
He said the Ministry of Higher Education was prepared to provide Afghan students returning to the country with an opportunity to continue their studies from the point at which their education had been interrupted.
Pakistan’s Express Tribune reported that the Lahore High Court issued the suspension on Friday while hearing petitions filed by 13 Afghan medical students.
The students are enrolled at King Edward Medical University, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Medical and Dental College, and the Services Institute of Medical Sciences in Lahore.
Justice Khalid Ishaq, who presided over the hearing, also directed Pakistan’s Ministry of Health, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, and the vice chancellors of the relevant universities to submit their responses by September 18.
The lawyer representing the Afghan students argued that they had been deprived of their rights to education, life, and dignity without being given an opportunity to present their case. He also claimed that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council had exceeded its legal authority.
The council’s lawyer, meanwhile, argued that the matter was linked to national security. The judge rejected that argument and suspended the orders issued on July 31 and September 1.
Under the court’s order, the Afghan students may continue their education, take part in examinations, and return to their university dormitories.
The 13 students include seven women and six men. They said they had been expelled from their educational institutions under the council’s directive and that the sudden implementation of the decision had also forced them to leave their dormitories.
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