ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Afghan students holding valid visas and enrolled in degree programmes in Pakistan will be allowed to continue their studies, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said on Thursday.
Speaking at a weekly press briefing in Islamabad, the spokesperson clarified that Pakistan has not imposed a blanket ban on Afghan students studying in the country.
The clarification came after a September 1 letter from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC), which directed medical and dental institutions not to provide new admissions, placements, transfers, migrations or other facilitation to Afghan nationals.
The directives created uncertainty among Afghan medical and dental students, with more than 40 Afghan students at two medical universities in Lahore reportedly being asked to complete departure formalities within 24 hours.
Responding to questions about the issue, Khan said students who hold valid visas and are properly registered in degree programmes will be allowed to remain in Pakistan and complete their education.
He advised media representatives to seek further clarification from the PM&DC regarding the letter and whether it applied to students with valid visas and registrations or those facing other deficiencies.
Separately, the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) has urged the Punjab government to seek approval from the Ministry of Interior to allow Afghan medical and dental students to continue their studies in the province.
In a letter to the Punjab Home Department, SAFRON said Afghan students were studying in various medical and dental colleges under valid visas and Higher Education Commission (HEC) and other scholarship programmes.
The ministry requested that the students be allowed to complete their professional degrees on humanitarian grounds and that their visas be extended where necessary.
The issue comes amid Pakistan’s ongoing campaign to repatriate Afghan nationals and worsening relations between Islamabad and Kabul following an increase in militant attacks in Pakistan’s western regions.
According to UN refugee agency data, more than 300,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan during the first seven months of 2026.
Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. However, relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent years amid security concerns and Pakistan’s efforts to repatriate Afghan nationals.
