ISLAMABAD: Afghan medical students in Pakistan have appealed to authorities to let them complete their degrees, saying a directive requiring them to return home could end education of many woman students who have been barred from universities under Taliban rule.

The appeal came as medical institutions in Pakistan’s Punjab province began implementing the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PM&DC) directive requiring Afghan students already enrolled in medical and dental programs to return to Afghanistan.

At least 43 Afghan students at two leading medical universities in Punjab’s capital Lahore, including 26 women, were ordered to complete departure formalities within 24 hours, according to university directives seen by Arab News.

“For a medical or dental student, being forced to leave or discontinue their education is not simply a matter of leaving a university. It could mean losing years of hard work, significant family investment, and the future of a young person,” an Afghan woman student, who asked not to be named for the fear of repercussions, told Arab News, adding that they were not seeking special treatment but wanted currently enrolled students to be allowed to finish degrees.

“For us, particularly Afghan female students, returning to Afghanistan would mean losing the opportunity to continue our education,” she said.

“Afghan girls and women have been deprived of access to schools and universities for nearly five years, and under the current circumstances, we have no opportunity to continue our university education in Afghanistan.”

These Afghan students say they have invested a lot in their education in Pakistan.

“Many of us have already spent several years working hard to reach this stage and have faced numerous challenges along the way,” the woman student said.

“If our education in Pakistan is interrupted, our educational journey would effectively come to a complete stop, with no alternative pathway available to us.”

In Lahore, King Edward Medical University has ordered 22 Afghan students, including five women, to complete formalities relating to their departure, while Fatima Jinnah Medical University has directed 21 Afghan woman students to do so.

The directives followed a Sept. 1 letter from the PM&DC reiterating that Afghan nationals already enrolled in medical or dental programs in Pakistan were required to return to Afghanistan.

The regulator also said that no new admission, placement, transfer, migration or “other facilitation” of Afghan nationals would be permitted, saying the matter was linked to “national policy” directives.

About 1,000 Afghan students are enrolled in educational institutions across Punjab, of whom around 400 are medical students, according to an Afghan embassy spokesperson.

“We understand that every country has its own laws and regulations, and we respect the decisions of the relevant authorities. Our request is not to oppose the law; rather, we respectfully ask that the rights of Afghan students who were already enrolled and studying in Pakistani universities not be overlooked,” said another student, requesting anonymity.

‘FORCED DEPORTATION’

The latest order comes against the backdrop of Pakistan’s widening campaign to repatriate Afghan nationals and an unprecedented deterioration in relations with Afghanistan’s Taliban government over a surge in militancy in Pakistan’s western regions bordering Afghanistan.

The Afghan embassy in Islamabad said the PM&DC decision amounted to “forced deportation” of students who had entered Pakistan lawfully.

“The Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad expresses its deep concern over the decision of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) regarding the forced deportation of Afghan medical students currently pursuing their studies in Pakistan,” it said in a statement shared with Arab News.

The embassy urged Pakistani educational authorities and international medical, educational and humanitarian institutions to safeguard the academic rights of Afghan students and allow them to complete their studies without interruption.

“The Embassy further emphasizes that vital areas such as knowledge, education, and human relations should remain protected from political disagreements,” it said.

The PM&DC, King Edward Medical University and Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to requests for comment.

Former Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan said the PM&DC should reconsider the decision on “humanitarian grounds and civilizational relations” between the two countries.

“A more humane and practical approach can be to allow the students to complete their respective degrees and arrange their return to Afghanistan as soon as they complete their education,” he said on X.

The students have also urged Kabul and Islamabad to resolve their differences without involving them.

“We are saying that pressure should be put on the embassy, the Afghan embassy, so that they resolve their issues with the Pakistani government,” a third Afghan student said.

“We shouldn’t be dragged into politics.”