KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Pakistani authorities to reverse orders requiring Afghan medical and dental students to leave their universities and return to Afghanistan, describing the measures as discriminatory and warning of severe consequences for female students.
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council directed all medical and dental institutions on Sept. 1 to expel enrolled Afghan students and arrange their departure. It also ordered a suspension of new admissions, placements, transfers or other educational facilities for Afghan nationals until further notice.
Without prior warning, institutions have begun implementing the directive. Lahore’s King Edward Medical University instructed 20 Afghan medical students, including four women and seven in their final year, to report within 24 hours to complete departure formalities.
Citing the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, HRW said about 100 Afghan medical and dental students in Lahore may be affected, including 20 to 40 women. Some students have approached the organization seeking shelter and legal assistance amid fears of imminent deportation.
“Pakistan is obligated as a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to ensure equal access to higher education based on ability and without discrimination,” HRW said. The UN committee monitoring the treaty has clarified that its protections extend to non-nationals regardless of immigration status, the group added.
“Removing enrolled students just because they are Afghan is contrary to these protections,” HRW stressed.
The consequences would be particularly severe for Afghan women, HRW said, because the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have banned women from universities and medical training.
The rights group called on Pakistan to withdraw the return orders, restore the students’ enrollment and reverse the ban on new admissions. “Pakistan should let these future doctors and dentists finish their education for their own sakes, and for the countless lives they may one day improve or save in Pakistan or — when it is finally safe for them to return — in Afghanistan,” it said.
Amnesty International also criticized the decision as “patently arbitrary and discriminatory” and urged authorities to allow the students to complete their studies. “Many of these students have spent years pursuing their medical degrees, only to have their education abruptly and unjustifiably terminated, with little prospect of resuming their studies elsewhere,” Amnesty said.
Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former special representative for Afghanistan, described the expulsion as “shocking.” “Expelling these students, particularly young women who have fought against extraordinary odds simply to study, is not just an administrative matter. It is a question of humanity, compassion and Pakistan’s own moral responsibility,” he said.
The move comes as Pakistan has intensified efforts to repatriate Afghan nationals amid worsening relations with Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities. The International Organization for Migration says more than 2.6 million Afghans returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan between September 2023 and July 31, 2026.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and allowing them to plan and carry out attacks from Afghan territory. The Taliban denies the allegations and says Pakistan’s security problems are an internal matter.
