Pakistan expelling Afghan medical students? Islamabad issues new order as ties with Kabul deteriorate
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Pakistan expelling Afghan medical students? Islamabad issues new order as ties with Kabul deteriorate")
This photograph taken on June 25, 2026 shows Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan official workers registering paperwork for Afghan returnees deported from Pakistan, at Omari camp near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border crossing in Torkham, Nangarhar province. Photograph: (AFP)
Pakistan has ordered medical institutions to expel Afghan students and halt fresh admissions amid worsening ties with Kabul. Students with valid visas can still seek extensions under existing rules.
Pakistan has reportedly directed medical and dental institutions across the country to stop admitting Afghan students and remove those already enrolled, as relations between Islamabad and Kabul continue to deteriorate.
According to a PTI report, citing a senior Health Ministry official, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has barred institutions from granting admissions or placements to Afghan students during the current academic session, a senior Health Ministry official said on Wednesday (Sep 9). The order could affect hundreds of Afghan students pursuing medical and dental degrees, including those close to completing their courses.
Students already enrolled have also been told to return to Afghanistan, according to the official. The measure applies specifically to Afghan nationals and does not cover students from other countries.
Visa status remains key
Pakistan’s Foreign Office offered a more nuanced position, saying Afghan students who hold valid passports and residency documents can still apply for visa extensions under existing regulations.
Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan told Dawn that under Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigner Repatriation Plan, foreign nationals without valid passports and visas are considered to be staying illegally and can face deportation.
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“However, Pakistani authorities are continuing to process visa extension applications from Afghan students in accordance with our existing policy, rules and regulations,” he said.
King Edward Medical University in Lahore has already begun implementing the directive. A university official said 22 Afghan students are currently studying there and have been given 24 hours to complete the required legal and administrative formalities.
Pakistan-Afghanistan ties worsen
The move comes amid growing tensions over Pakistan’s allegations that the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan operates from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. Kabul’s Taliban administration has denied the allegations.
Relations deteriorated further following explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year and subsequent cross-border clashes that caused casualties and damage on both sides.
Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghans over several decades, with many fleeing successive conflicts. The arrival of hundreds of thousands increased after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Islamabad began a major deportation campaign against undocumented foreigners in 2023 and intensified the drive in April last year after cancelling hundreds of thousands of Afghan residence permits. In June, Pakistan’s interior ministry ordered authorities to arrest Afghan nationals living in the country without valid visas from July 10.
More than one million Afghan nationals were deported from Pakistan last year alone.
