• LHC gives PMDC, varsity more time to file replies
• Five graduates seek registration for house jobs; court questions stay requests amid Pakistan’s policy stance
• Hearing comes amid wider Afghan repatriation drive

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday extended the suspension of a Pakistan Medical and Dental Council directive ordering Afghan medical students to return to their neighbouring country after lawyers representing the regulatory body and a varsity sought more time to submit their replies.

The PMDC issued a notification on Sept 1 directing Afghan medical students enrolled in Pakistani colleges to return to Afghanistan. The notification also barred medical and dental colleges from granting admission or placement to Afghan students for the current academic session.

Subsequently, a set of petitions against the directive was filed on Sept 10 by 13 Afghan students enrolled at institutions in Lahore, including King Edward Medical University, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Medical and Dental College and the Services Institute of Medical Sciences.

At the previous hearing on Sept 11, Justice Khalid Ishaq sought replies from the respondents, including the PMDC, the health ministry and the vice chancellors of the medical universities and colleges.

On Friday, lawyers for the PMDC and the University of Health Sciences appeared in court and sought additional time to furnish written replies. The judge allowed their requests and adjourned the hearing to a later date.

During the hearing, Justice Ishaq also heard a plea filed on Thursday by five Afghan medical graduates. The petitioners said they completed a five-year MBBS programme in the 2021-2026 session under the Allama Iqbal Scholarship, but the PMDC left their registration applications undecided for months.

The five petitioners argued that without PMDC registration, they could not enrol in the mandatory year-long house job required to practise medicine, effectively stalling their careers.

They contended that PMDC’s own regulations granted graduating students a right to a house job placement and that the council’s governing act did not empower it to order deportations. This plea was clubbed with those filed earlier.

Specifically regarding this petition, the judge asked the petitioners’ counsel, Advocate Asad Jamal, to satisfy the court as to how his clients could seek a year-long house job as a right, keeping in view Pakistan’s current foreign policy.

He also asked why the graduates wanted to continue their stay despite completing their academic programme.

Mr Jamal responded that the graduates had a legitimate expectation for a house job after completing their programme. A large number of Afghan medical students attended Friday’s hearing.

The legal battle unfolds against the backdrop of a massive deportation drive. In June, the Ministry of Interior issued a directive to immediately arrest any Afghan national “found residing in Pakistan without a valid visa”.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2026