ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Medical and dental universities and colleges across Pakistan have started asking Afghan students, including final-year MBBS students, to discontinue their education and return home, prompting the Afghan embassy to urge authorities to let them complete their degrees. Among the institutions that have issued notices are King Edward Medical University (KEMU), Lahore, and Fatima Jinnah Medical College (FJMC), Lahore. They have asked Afghan students to complete formalities for leaving their institutions within 24 hours.
The notices were issued with reference to a Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) letter dated September 1, 2026, concerning Afghan nationals enrolled in medical and dental institutions. The KEMU notice applies to 22 Afghan students enrolled in different years of the MBBS programme. Several are in the final year, while two have recently completed their degrees.
When approached, the KEMU spokesman said that KEMU only complied with the instructions given by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council. Similarly, FJMC has asked 21 Afghan students enrolled from the first to fifth year of MBBS to complete the required formalities. Several of them are in their final professional year.
Officials said similar directions had been conveyed to medical and dental institutions in other parts of the country. Around 200 Afghan students are studying medicine and dentistry in public and private institutions in Pakistan and are being asked to return home, they added. The PMDC decision also stops new admissions, transfers and migration of Afghan students in Pakistani medical and dental institutions until further orders, officials said.
The Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad, in a statement, said the move would seriously affect the academic progress and future of students who had begun their studies through lawful procedures and were now close to completing their programmes after years of effort and considerable personal and financial investment. It called upon Pakistani educational authorities, as well as international medical, educational, humanitarian and professional institutions, to safeguard the academic rights of Afghan students and ensure that they were able to complete their studies without interruption or undue obstacles.
The embassy said knowledge, education and human relations should remain protected from political disagreements. It added that academic and educational opportunities should not be adversely affected by political differences or developments. King Edward Medical University (KEMU) has directed 22 Afghan students enrolled in its MBBS programme to complete all required formalities through the office of the Assistant Registrar MBBS within 24 hours, following directions issued by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).
According to an order issued by the KEMU Registrar on September 7, the 22 students include one in first year, seven in second year, four in third year, one in fourth year and seven in final year, while two are recently graduated. The KEMU action follows a PMDC directive issued on September 1, reiterating instructions first communicated to medical and dental institutions on July 31 regarding Afghan nationals enrolled in medical and dental programmes in Pakistan.
'Afghan nationals previously enrolled in medical or dental programmes in Pakistan are required to return to Afghanistan,' the PMDC said, directing institutions to complete necessary administrative formalities, including issuing no-objection certificates and facilitating their departure. The PMDC orders also prohibit new admissions, placements, transfers, migrations or any other form of facilitation for Afghan nationals during the current academic session until further orders. Describing the matter as relating to 'national policy directives', the council warned that failure to comply could attract regulatory action under the PMDC Act, 2022.
The directive has subsequently been followed by internal notifications at medical institutions, including KEMU, which has now directed its affected students to complete the required formalities within 24 hours. Questions have also been raised over the nature of the 'codal formalities' mentioned in the KEMU notification. The order does not specify what documents or procedures the students are required to complete, nor does it clarify whether their enrolment, examinations or degrees could be affected.
When approached, the KEMU spokesman said that KEMU only complied with the instructions given by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council. The PMDC has decided that all Afghan students currently studying medicine in Pakistan will have to obtain No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) and return to Afghanistan to continue their medical education at medical colleges in their country. 'The institutions are issuing NOCs to enable the students to secure admission in Afghanistan in the same academic year in which they were studying in Pakistan,' the source added.
The decision comes as Pakistan expands its campaign to repatriate Afghan nationals. More than 2.6 million Afghans returned to Afghanistan between September 2023 and July 31, 2026.