Without warning, Pakistan has directed all medical and dental institutions to expel Afghan students and arrange to send them back to Afghanistan. It is the latest move by Pakistani authorities to summarily deport Afghans from the country.
Especially for Afghan women students, being returned to Afghanistan ends their chances of ever becoming doctors or dentists, as the Taliban have banned all women from universities and medical training.
Pakistan’s medical institutions have also suspended new admissions of Afghan nationals. Lahore’s King Edward Medical University directed 20 Afghan medical students, including 4 women and 7 students in their final year, to report within 24 hours to complete departure formalities.
The nongovernmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates about 100 Afghan medical and dental students in Lahore may be affected, including 20 to 40 women. Some Afghan students have approached the organization seeking safe shelter alongside legal assistance, as they fear imminent deportation.
Pakistan is obligated as a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to ensure equal access to higher education based on ability and without discrimination. The United Nations committee monitoring compliance with the treaty has clarified that its protections extend to non-nationals, regardless of immigration status. Removing enrolled students just because they are Afghan is contrary to these protections.
Human Rights Watch has previously documented Pakistani authorities’ arbitrary arrests and forced returns of hundreds of thousands of Afghans, many who had lived for decades in Pakistan.
Pakistan is also bound by the universal principle of nonrefoulement, which forbids the forcible return of people to a well-documented risk of persecution, torture, or other serious harm. Because those Afghans previously expelled from Pakistan were not properly screened, we have no way of knowing how many feared persecution from the Taliban if returned.
Pakistani authorities should withdraw the return orders, restore students’ enrollment, reverse the discriminatory admissions ban, and ensure students can remain lawfully to complete their degrees. Each student’s protection needs require individual assessment, with safe shelter for those needing it, especially women who are at greater risk of Taliban persecution.
Pakistan should let these future doctors and dentists finish their education for their own sakes and for the countless lives they may one day improve or save in Pakistan or – when it is finally safe for them to return – in Afghanistan.
