The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday extended the suspension of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) notifications directing Afghan medical students enrolled in medical colleges across Punjab to return to Afghanistan. Justice Khalid Ishaq heard petitions filed by several Afghan medical students, including male and female students enrolled in different medical colleges in Punjab. During the proceedings, counsel for the PMDC and the University of Health Sciences (UHS) appeared before the court and sought additional time to submit their written replies.

The court accepted the request and adjourned further proceedings while extending suspension of PMDC's notifications. The students had challenged PMDC notifications issued on September 1 and July 31, both directing Afghan medical students to return to their country. They contended that neither the PMDC nor the educational institutions concerned had the legal authority to remove them from their medical programmes.

At the previous hearing, the court had suspended the operation of the PMDC notification and sought replies from the respondents. Meanwhile, the court also heard a separate petition filed by five Afghan medical graduates who had completed the five-year MBBS programme during the 2021-2026 academic session under the HEC-administered Allama Iqbal Scholarship programme. The graduates submitted that despite completing their academic requirements, their applications for registration with the PMDC had remained pending for several months.

They contended that the delay in registration had prevented them from enrolling in the mandatory one-year house job required before they could practise medicine. As a result, they said, their professional careers had been stalled despite their completion of the MBBS programme. The court clubbed the graduates' petition with the other petitions challenging the PMDC notifications concerning Afghan medical students.