Pakistan Expels Afghan Medical Students Over Visa Violations and Conduct Allegations

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has moved to expel Afghan nationals enrolled in its medical and dental institutions, with Punjab Police detaining more than 20 students from Quaid-e-Azam Medical College in Bahawalpur over alleged visa violations and anti-state activity.

To all Afghan & Taliban sympathizers from KP crying over Afghan students, watch this video and then decide 🇦🇫🇵🇰

Pakistan expelled students lacking valid visas, but every Afghan student should be expelled from Pakistani universities.

National security comes first! pic.twitter.com/4FaDkPohkl

- Zard si Gana (@ZardSi) September 9, 2026

PMDC Directive Bars Admissions, Orders Returns

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) issued a directive barring all public and private medical and dental colleges from admitting Afghan nationals for the current academic session. Afghan students previously enrolled in these programs are "required to return to Afghanistan," with institutions instructed to complete all necessary administrative formalities for their departure.

The regulator warned that no new admissions, transfers, or placements would be permitted during the current session, and that any violation would invite action against the institution concerned.

Bahawalpur Detentions

In Bahawalpur, police detained over 20 Afghan students from Quaid-e-Azam Medical College. Sources indicate the detentions followed reports of anti-Pakistan activity, with some students found to be residing in Pakistan on expired visas.

Authorities have stated that the students were not targeted solely on the basis of nationality, but due to alleged violations of Pakistani law. Legal action has been ordered on both the visa and conduct counts.

Legal Basis: Illegal Foreigners' Repatriation Plan

The expulsions rest on Pakistan's Illegal Foreigners' Repatriation Plan (IFRP), under which any foreign national without a valid visa and passport is liable for deportation. The Foreign Office has reiterated that the stay of any foreign national without valid documentation is illegal under the plan.

More than one million Afghan nationals were repatriated from Pakistan in 2025 under the IFRP, and the current measures extend that framework to the student population.

Security Context

The measures come amid sustained tensions between Islamabad and Kabul over cross-border militancy. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban regime of permitting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan soil, citing UN documentation of hundreds of attacks launched from Afghanistan in 2025. Islamabad maintains that the Taliban government has failed to take verifiable action against these groups.

Impact and Reaction

The directive affects students across multiple institutions, including those admitted under the Allama Muhammad Amjad Iqbal Scholarship administered by Pakistan's Higher Education Commission. Some affected students are in their final year of study.

Amnesty International has criticised the PMDC decision as "discriminatory and arbitrary," noting the particular impact on female students who were already barred from higher education in Afghanistan. Pakistani officials have rejected this characterisation, framing the measures as immigration enforcement rather than an education policy.