PESHAWAR(National Times)- Afghan medical students studying in Pakistani colleges have expressed concern over directives from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council to return to their country and appealed to the government to allow the already enrolled students to complete their degrees, especially female students, who have no prospects of continuing their education back home.
“Currently, about 1,000 Afghan students, including 350 girls, have been pursuing education in medical and dental colleges in Pakistan. The PMDC’s notification asking us to return to our country has caused unrest among us, particularly female students,” said Anayatullah Momand, final-year MBBS student at the Khyber Medical College.
Mr Momand, spokesperson for Afghan medical students, said an estimated 200 students who have completed their house jobs and are waiting to be enrolled in specialisation programmes were also among those affected.
“The government should allow the currently enrolled students to complete their studies and save their future. We don’t object to Pakistan’s policy of barring Afghans from education here, but the old students should be exempted,” he said.
“Our immense concern is female students who, if sent back to Afghanistan, will sit in homes because there is no education for women due to the Taliban ban,” he said.
“All of us had valid visas, and many of the students whose visas had expired have applied for renewal,” he said. According to him, all Afghans have been admitted to colleges on merit. “Some have arrived in Pakistan on scholarship, while others on Afghan national seats reserved by the Pakistan government, and still others are studying under the Pakistan Technical Assistance Programme for Afghans.”
“In a recent meeting, the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan told us that they will give us admission in Afghanistan’s medical and dental colleges in case of our repatriation, but we don’t need Afghan medical degrees, which aren’t recognised internationally,” Mr Momand said.
“We asked the ambassador what the future will be for female students back home and he had no answer,” he said. “The ball is in the court of Pakistan’s government.”
Najma Bibi, a third-year student, said that the danger is not over yet. “Though the Lahore High Court has suspended the PMDC’s directives of July 31 and September 1, which asked the colleges to stop admitting Afghan students, it is a temporary relief,” she said.
Bibi, who is one of the 22 students of King Edwards Medical University, which ordered the Afghan nationals to vacate the campus on Sept 7, said the PMDC should take pity on hundreds of Afghans, especially female students, and reconsider its decision.
“The decision aims to send us to the Stone Age because the Taliban in Afghanistan have banned women’s education,” said another student on condition of anonymity.
A 3rd-year MBBS student, she came to Pakistan two years ago on the Allama Iqbal Scholarship offered by Pakistan, with the hope to complete her education and serve women back home. “However, these past few months have been like hell, and we still face the risk of eviction from Pakistan,” she said.
A first-year female student said that her dream of becoming a doctor is unlikely to get materialised given the threats they are facing. “Pakistan should realise our problem, as going back can land us in a hard and challenging situation and even we can face prosecution,” she said.
On Sept 1, PMDC had asked the medical and dental colleges that enrolled Afghan students to return to Afghanistan, in accordance with the prevailing policy directions. The institutions concerned shall ensure that necessary administrative formalities, including issuance of the requisite No-Objection Certificate and facilitation of their departure, are completed accordingly, the directive said.
