Afghan medical and dental students have challenged Pakistan’s expulsion order in the Lahore High Court. Rights groups say the move risks wrecking careers and forcing vulnerable students back into danger.

Some Afghan students on Thursday challenged in a Pakistani court the government’s decision to expel them from medical and dental colleges and send them back to Afghanistan, a move taken amid worsening ties between Islamabad and Kabul.

The order, issued on Wednesday to medical and dental institutions across Pakistan, directs colleges to expel Afghan students and stop admitting them with immediate effect. The decision threatens to disrupt the education and professional future of hundreds of aspiring Afghan doctors and dentists, including students who are only months away from completing their degrees.

Thirteen Afghan medical students filed a petition through Advocate Asad Jamal in the Lahore High Court. The petitioners said they were removed from their institutions on the direction of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).

“The PMDC’s powers must be exercised within the bounds of the Constitution and Pakistan’s international legal obligations, and that neither the 2023 Act nor constitutional or international principles permit the council to act arbitrarily, particularly against students who have already invested years in their medical education in Lahore and across Pakistan,” the petitioners said.

One of the petitioners said she had completed two years of medical studies in Afghanistan before being forced to leave her education there because of Taliban restrictions on women’s access to schooling. The students also said, “The sudden and disruptive process led to their evictions from hostels by their respective colleges and left them without accommodation as their academic futures hang in the balance. The PMDC’s decision has caused significant distress among Afghan medical students studying across Pakistan.” They asked the court for an early hearing, calling it an urgent matter.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the decision to rusticate and repatriate Afghan students already enrolled in medical and dental institutions in Pakistan, warning that it could turn an education policy into a humanitarian crisis. It said the decision, along with the reported bar on new admissions for Afghan students, had put the education, safety and future of young Afghans at immediate risk.

According to the HRCP, around 100 Afghan medical and dental students in Lahore alone could be affected, including an estimated 20 to 40 women. “Some students have now approached HRCP seeking not only legal and institutional support but also safe shelter,” it said.

The HRCP urged the government to uphold the principle of non-refoulement, under which people should not be returned to a country where they face a serious risk of persecution or other grave harm. It said there were well-documented risks for Afghans returning to Afghanistan, with women particularly vulnerable to restrictions and rights violations. “No student should be forcibly returned without an individual assessment of the risks they face,” the commission said.

The rights body said Pakistan’s security concerns and strained ties with Afghanistan could not justify collectively punishing students pursuing their education in the country. It demanded that the repatriation orders be suspended, the enrolment of affected students be restored, and protection and shelter be arranged for those who need it.

The case and the HRCP’s intervention have brought the spotlight on a decision that has affected Afghan students across Pakistan, especially those nearing the end of their medical and dental studies, as they seek relief from the court and protection from forced return.

With PTI Inputs