Peshawar High Court halts deportation of 86 Afghan medical students

In Peshawar, the High Court bench of Justices Wiqar Ahmad and Farah Jamshed granted a temporary injunction preventing the deportation of 86 Afghan nationals studying in various public sector medical and dental colleges across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The court sent notices to the federal interior secretary, the director general of immigration and passport, and the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s registrar, asking for their comments on the petition filed by the students, including Selsela Dost and others.

A hearing is scheduled for October 12, and the court ordered that the students remain in their programs unless another reason for dismissal arises. The petition seeks to nullify two PMDC circulars dated July 31, 2026, and September 1, 2026, which required the students to stop their studies and exit Pakistan. Counsel Advocate Waseemuddin Khattak argued that the students entered on valid visas and that the council exceeded its authority under the PMDC Act, 2023. The ruling follows a September 23 order that also stopped the deportation of 17 Afghan doctors in private hospitals and mirrors a Lahore High Court decision that suspended the same PMDC order for Afghan students in its area.