PESHAWAR: Khyber Medical University has planned to set up its campus in Kabul, Afghanistan, to provide health education to Afghan students at their doorsteps.

This was stated by KMU Vice-chancellor Prof Ziaul Haq in a meeting with the delegation of Consulate General of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on Wednesday.

The delegation was led by Mufti Noorullah, Qari Habibullah and Nusratullah Zia, a press release said.

The vice-chancellor said that thousands of Afghan students were currently getting education in Pakistan. He said that KMU was not only providing educational services to Afghan students in MBBS and BDS but also imparting training to them in nursing, physiotherapy, public health and allied health sciences.

Besides Allama Iqbal Scholarships, the government of Pakistan had reserved seats for Afghan students in various educational institutions and they paid fee at the rate of Pakistani students.

“Our doors are open to Afghan students. We are working on KMU’s offshore campus (international campus) to provide them with higher education opportunities in Pakistan’s educational institutions as well as in Kabul and other Afghan cities,” said Prof Zia.

The plan of setting up the campus is being implemented. The initial approval of the plan has been obtained from the KMU syndicate in addition to Higher Education Commission, Islamabad.

Mufti Noorullah apprised the Afghan students about the availability of educational facilities in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and KMU, and cooperation of the institutions concerned.

He said that Pakistan stood by them in every difficult time for which they were deeply grateful to the government of Pakistan and especially to the people of the country on behalf of the Afghan people.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2022