LHC blocks expulsion of Afghan students

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday restrained medical colleges in Punjab from expelling Afghan medical students or cancelling their examinations, suspending the operation of some recent directives issued by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). Justice Khalid Ishaq passed the order while hearing petitions filed by more than 30 Afghan MBBS and BDS students studying at institutions in Lahore, including King Edward Medical University, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Medical and Dental College and Services Institute of Medical Sciences. The court also sought replies from the Ministry of Health, the PMDC and vice chancellors of the concerned institutions by September 18. During the hearing, the counsel for the PMDC told the court that the Afghan students did not possess valid visas. Justice Khalid Ishaq questioned how the students had been granted education visas when they were admitted to medical colleges. He observed that the students had already spent four years pursuing their medical education. The petitioners' counsel argued that the students had been condemned unheard and that their rights to education, life and dignity had been violated. He contended that the PMDC had exceeded its authority under the PMDC Act, 2022. The judge questioned the basis of the PMDC notification, remarking that it appeared to have been issued following a "royal decree" from the government. "Before expelling these students, you should have heard them at least once," Justice Ishaq observed. He also criticised the apparent change in government policy towards Afghan students, remarking that when they had been treated favourably, their presence had been highlighted before the world, but the policy had now changed. The PMDC counsel argued that it was a universal principle that a person could not remain in a country without a valid visa. Justice Ishaq replied that the students could be sent back, but only after completing their medical education. The counsel referred to the United States, saying that even there a person could not remain without a valid visa. Justice Ishaq responded that courts in the United States are independent and that courts in Pakistan are also independent. Criticising the severity of the action against the students, the judge remarked that they could as well be sent to the gallows rather than being expelled. The PMDC counsel then argued that the matter involved national or state security. Justice Ishaq rejected the argument, saying that there was no state-security issue involved in the matter. The court subsequently suspended the operation of the PMDC's July 31 and September 1 directives concerning Afghan medical and dental students. It ordered that the students be allowed to continue their studies, appear in examinations and return to their hostels. The court further categorically directed that no medical college in Punjab would expel any of the Afghan students or cancel their examinations. The petitions state that medical colleges had expelled the Afghan students on the instructions of the PMDC. Earlier this month, the country's medical regulator had directed Afghan students enrolled in medical and dental colleges across Pakistan to return to Afghanistan and barred institutions from admitting new Afghan students.