Key Points
- Foreign Office says there is no “blanket ban” on Afghan students
- Afghan medical students in Punjab include beneficiaries of HEC and other scholarship programmes
- Pakistan says reports of targeting Pakistanis for employment in UAE are untrue
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said Thursday that Afghan students with valid visas and enrolled in recognised degree programmes could remain in the country and complete their education.
Foreign Office said it was processing the applications for visa extensions under existing rules.
Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said Pakistan had not imposed a blanket ban on Afghan students.
During the weekly briefing, he addressed the questions over a Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) directive that has created uncertainty for Afghan medical and dental students enrolled in Pakistani institutions.
“Those who are holding valid visas and registered in valid degree programs will continue, and they will complete their education in Pakistan,” Khan told reporters.
He said this was a normal requirement for foreign students studying in another country and advised journalists seeking clarification about the PM&DC directive to approach the regulator.
“You should ask them to clarify if all these students are validly registered and hold valid visas,” he said, questioning whether students ordered to return had valid documentation or faced other deficiencies.
The PM&DC directive of September 1 had instructed medical and dental institutions to stop new admissions, placements, transfers and migrations involving Afghan nationals and required institutions to complete formalities concerning Afghan students already enrolled.
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The directive prompted concern among Afghan medical students, particularly those in advanced stages of their professional degrees.
The Foreign Office position announced Thursday indicates that foreign students’ status depends on their immigration and academic documentation. Students holding valid visas and registered in valid degree programmes can continue their studies, while those without valid visas remain subject to Pakistan’s immigration rules.
Scholarships and medical education
The issue also involves Afghan students studying in Pakistan under scholarship arrangements.
A letter from the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and States and Frontier Regions to the Punjab government noted that Afghan medical and dental students were studying in Pakistani institutions on Higher Education Commission (HEC) and other scholarship programmes.
The ministry asked Punjab authorities to approach the Interior Ministry to allow the students to continue their professional education “on humanitarian grounds,” and the medical students could also be granted visa extensions to complete their degrees.
Pakistan has separately maintained a long-running scholarship programme for Afghan students. The HEC’s Allama Muhammad Iqbal Scholarships for Afghan Students programme has provided opportunities for thousands of Afghan youth to pursue higher education in Pakistan, with the programme covering 4,500 scholars.
Pakistanis’ employment in UAE
The Foreign Office also rejected reports that Pakistani nationals were being systematically targeted or profiled for employment in the United Arab Emirates.
The question followed reports concerning Pakistani employees of UAE-based companies, including Etihad Airways. Khan said he did not have information indicating a pattern of dismissals.
“There may have been sporadic layoffs or sporadic incidents, but I’m not aware of any pattern,” he said.
He pointed to the size of the Pakistani community in the UAE, saying 2.2 million Pakistanis were living there and contributing to the economy.
“Any news of any targeting or profiling of Pakistanis for employment is untrue,” Khan said.
He also rejected reports that could damage relations between the two countries, saying Pakistan and the UAE were “brotherly countries, supportive of each other” and had supported one another bilaterally and multilaterally.
Diplomatic engagements
The weekly briefing also covered Pakistan’s diplomatic activity during the past week.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s September 2 visit to Kyrgyzstan resulted in the signing of 17 bilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding, covering areas including energy, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, tourism and the digital economy.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held telephone discussions with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Egypt, Kuwait and Norway, while also speaking with the newly elected secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and other international counterparts.
Pakistan also condemned Houthi attacks on civilian and economic sites in Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed its support for the kingdom’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security.
On Palestine, Pakistan joined seven other Arab and Islamic countries in rejecting proposals for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and supported international measures concerning illegal Israeli settlements.
Pakistan also reaffirmed support for a two-state solution based on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
The Foreign Office also rejected Indian assertions concerning the status of Jammu and Kashmir and criticised the demolition of a century-old mosque in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Pakistan meanwhile dispatched 100 tons of humanitarian assistance to flood- and landslide-hit Nepal on September 6, including tents, blankets, mats, hygiene kits and medicines.
The country will also host the 14th South Asian Games from April 4 to 11, 2027, with events planned in Islamabad, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The eight-day event is expected to bring more than 6,000 athletes and officials from across South Asia.
Yasin Malik’s health concern
The spokesperson was also asked about the recent implication of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)’s incarcerated chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, in a case from 1990.
Malik was named in June by India’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) as one of five men charged with the killing of Sarla Bhat. However, he submitted an affidavit stating that he had decided not to contest the trial and that his decision should not be treated as an admission of guilt or acceptance of the prosecution’s allegations.
Referring to Malik’s action, the FO said, “The stance taken by Yasin Malik is beyond an act of heroism. It is a damning indictment of the Indian judicial system, which has acted as a convenient tool in the hands of the Indian government, suppressing the Kashmiri people and depriving them of any recourse to justice”.
Khan held that in repudiating the right to defence, Malik has “struck a stinging blow to the judicial sham that the Indian government wanted to stage in its sinister campaign to malign the Kashmiri leadership”.
The spokesperson also expressed concern at Malik’s deteriorating health.
“The international community must not allow the Indian design to mortgage his life and well-being to advance its oppressive occupation of the IIOK,” he said, adding that Pakistan condemned the prosecution of Malik.
The FO spokesperson urged the UN and other humanitarian bodies to take note of Malik’s situation.
