Pakistan orders medical institutions to expel Afghan students, halt fresh admissions amid Kabul tensions

NEW DELHI: Pakistan has ordered medical and dental institutions across the country to stop admitting Afghan students and remove those already enrolled, amid worsening relations between Islamabad and Kabul, a senior government official said on Wednesday.The decision could affect hundreds of Afghan students pursuing undergraduate medical and dental courses in Pakistan, including students close to completing their degrees.Under a directive issued to medical and dental institutions, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has barred colleges from admitting or placing Afghan students during the current academic session, a senior health ministry official said.Afghan students already enrolled in medical and dental programmes have also been instructed to return to Afghanistan, the official said.The measure applies specifically to Afghan nationals and does not affect students from other countries, the official added. He said the decision was taken against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between the two neighbouring countries.However, Pakistan's Foreign Office said Afghan students who hold valid travel and residency documents can continue to apply for visa extensions under existing rules.Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan told Dawn that under Pakistan's Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan, foreign nationals without valid passports and visas are staying in the country illegally and can be deported.“However, Pakistani authorities are continuing to process visa extension applications from Afghan students in accordance with our existing policy, rules and regulations,” he said.King Edward Medical University (KEMU) in Lahore has become the first public-sector institution to implement the directive, according to a university official.“Twenty-two Afghan students are currently studying at KEMU, and they have been given 24 hours to complete the necessary legal and administrative formalities,” the official told PTI.The order comes as tensions between Islamabad and Kabul remain high, particularly over Pakistan's allegations that the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan operates from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. The Taliban administration has denied the allegation.Relations deteriorated further following a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year and subsequent cross-border exchanges that resulted in casualties and damage on both sides.The latest order comes against the backdrop of Pakistan's broader campaign to deport Afghan nationals without valid documentation.Millions of Afghans have sought refuge in Pakistan over several decades after fleeing successive conflicts. Hundreds of thousands more entered the country after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.Pakistan launched a large-scale deportation drive against undocumented foreigners in 2023 and renewed the campaign in April last year after cancelling hundreds of thousands of residence permits held by Afghan nationals.In June, Pakistan's interior ministry directed authorities to arrest Afghan nationals found living in the country without valid visas from July 10.More than one million Afghan nationals were deported from Pakistan last year alone.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.