Key Takeaways
- About 1,000 Afghan medical students, including 350 girls, are enrolled in Pakistani colleges.
- Students fear repatriation could lead to a loss of education opportunities, especially for female students.
- The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has issued directives for the students to return to Afghanistan.
Afghan medical students studying in Pakistani colleges have expressed concern over directives from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to return to their home country, according to a statement by Anayatullah Momand, a final-year MBBS student at the Khyber Medical College.
Momand, who is also the spokesperson for Afghan medical students, said that about 1,000 Afghan students, including 350 girls, are currently enrolled in medical and dental colleges in Pakistan.
The PMDC's notification asking the students to return has caused unrest, particularly among female students, who fear they will not have the opportunity to continue their education in Afghanistan due to the Taliban ban on women's education.
Momand stated that an estimated 200 students who have completed their house jobs and are waiting to be enrolled in specialisation programmes are also affected by the directive.
The students have applied for visa renewals and have been admitted to colleges on merit, with some arriving on scholarships or Afghan national seats reserved by the Pakistan government, and others under the Pakistan Technical Assistance Programme for Afghans.
In a recent meeting, the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan told the students that they would be given admission in Afghanistan's medical and dental colleges in case of their repatriation, but the students do not need Afghan medical degrees, which are not internationally recognised.
Najma Bibi, a third-year student at King Edwards Medical University, said that the Lahore High Court has suspended the PMDC's directives of July 31 and September 1, which asked the colleges to stop admitting Afghan students, providing temporary relief.
However, Bibi and other students fear that the decision aims to send them to the Stone Age, as the Taliban in Afghanistan have banned women's education.
The students have appealed to the government to allow them to complete their studies and save their future, stating that they do not object to Pakistan's policy of barring Afghans from education here, but the old students should be exempted.
Our immense concern is female students who, if sent back to Afghanistan, will sit in homes because there is no education for women due to the Taliban ban.
Anayatullah Momand, Spokesperson for Afghan medical students
The decision aims to send us to the Stone Age because the Taliban in Afghanistan have banned women's education.
A 3rd-year MBBS student on condition of anonymity, Student at King Edwards Medical University
