OMM Redaksiyası
Pakistan has ordered Afghan medical and dentistry students to return to Afghanistan. The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) issued the directive on Sept. 1, reiterating an earlier instruction issued on July 31.
Medical and dental institutions were instructed to facilitate the students’ departure from the country, including by issuing them no-objection certificates. Until further notice, they were also barred from admitting, accommodating, transferring or otherwise supporting new Afghan nationals.
The council did not disclose how many students would be affected or whether an exemption would apply to those nearing completion of their studies. The PM&DC linked the decision to “national policy directives.”
The decision comes as Pakistan continues a broader campaign to remove Afghans from the country. According to the latest data from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 307,500 Afghans returned to Afghanistan in the first seven months of 2026. Of these, 187,547 were assisted returns, while 119,953 people returned voluntarily.
The figure is close to the 312,750 returns recorded throughout 2025. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 2.6 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September 2023.
Pakistan launched its “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan” in September 2023. Initially focused mainly on undocumented foreigners, most of them Afghans, the policy was later extended to other categories of Afghans living in Pakistan.
Islamabad says national security and compliance with migration rules are at the center of the policy. Pakistan accuses the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) of operating from safe havens in Afghanistan and organizing cross-border attacks. Kabul rejects allegations that it allows Afghan territory to be used against Pakistan.
On Sept. 3, the Pakistani army said security forces had killed 15 militants who attempted to cross from Afghanistan into North Waziristan. According to the army’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations, the attempted infiltration was detected on Sept. 1 and the exchange of fire lasted 36 hours.
Pakistan identified the militants as TTP members and alleged that they were supported by India. Both Afghanistan and India rejected the allegation.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government rejects Pakistan’s accusations and has called for direct dialogue. Sardar Ahmad Shakib, the Taliban’s ambassador to Pakistan, said on Sept. 1 that Afghanistan should not be used against Pakistan. However, he said security allegations should be accompanied by specific and substantiated information.
Shakib added that Afghan citizens should not be collectively punished for resolving security problems. He stressed that trade and transit should not be turned into instruments of political pressure and called for the two countries’ security concerns to be discussed through direct talks.
The latest decision affecting Afghan medical students broadens Pakistan’s policy beyond undocumented migrants. As a result, Afghan students already enrolled in professional education programs are also being drawn into the dispute over security and migration between the two countries.
