QAMC Afghan doctors expelled: Bahawalpur college orders 20 to leave
The Quaid-i-Azam Medical College (QAMC) Bahawalpur has begun immediately expelling 20 Afghan postgraduate residents and medical students under the government’s directive against Afghan nationals at Pakistani medical institutions. Twelve postgraduate residents have been asked to vacate hostels and withdraw from their departments and courses (FCPS, surgery, urology, radiology, cardiology), while eight medical students are also being expelled.
The QAMC Afghan doctors expelled order means affected students must clear their dues and obtain no-objection and clearance certificates before returning to Afghanistan. A QAMC source confirmed the action follows a previous order, with fresh orders issued under government instructions.
What triggered the QAMC Afghan doctors expelled order
On September 1, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) issued a notification directing Afghan medical students enrolled in Pakistani colleges to return to Afghanistan, and barred medical and dental colleges from granting admission or placement to Afghan students for the current academic session. The move drew backlash from human rights bodies. Thirteen Afghan students filed petitions in the Lahore High Court, which suspended the PMDC directive on September 11.
Despite that suspension, reports soon surfaced of alleged expulsions of Afghan students at public-sector medical colleges in Punjab, including King Edward Medical University, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Medical and Dental College, and the Services Institute of Medical Sciences. QAMC is the latest institution to act. Its source said the decision follows both the earlier order and fresh government instructions — a distinction that matters, because it frames the Bahawalpur expulsions as compliance with government orders rather than with the suspended council notification, even as the court’s stay on the PMDC directive remains in place.
The college administration has also written to the district police officer, the QAMC director finance, the University of Health Sciences and the Punjab Health Foundation, sharing the students’ passport numbers and other particulars with directions to make arrangements for their return to Afghanistan.
Pressure on Punjab’s medical training sector
The expulsions come at a sensitive moment for Punjab’s health and education sectors. The Punjab government has approved Rs45.13 billion for three health projects, with funding tied to performance, as the province tries to strengthen its medical infrastructure. The sector also faces scrutiny over standards: no Pakistani university made the world’s top 500 in the 2027 Times Higher Education rankings, and the Federal Constitutional Court recently ruled that doctors cannot run drug stores without a licence.
Capacity is expanding in other ways: the first Sehat Card kidney transplant was performed at Khyber Teaching Hospital. Punjab’s wider education sector is under strain too, after the province’s ninth-class results exposed a deeper education crisis. Against this backdrop, the departure of 20 foreign trainees from Bahawalpur adds another pressure point for medical training in the province.
What happens next
The 20 Afghan students and residents must complete their clearance formalities and leave for Afghanistan. The Lahore High Court’s suspension of the PMDC directive stands for the 13 petitioners who challenged it, but similar enforcement at KEMU and other Punjab colleges suggests the expulsions are part of a coordinated drive across the province, carried out through government instructions rather than the council’s notification. How the courts respond to that distinction will decide whether the Bahawalpur expulsions, and those that came before them, are allowed to stand.
Why is QAMC Bahawalpur expelling Afghan students?
The college says it is acting on government instructions flowing from the PMDC’s September 1 notification, which directed Afghan medical students to return to Afghanistan. A QAMC source confirmed the move follows both the earlier order and fresh orders.
Who is affected by the QAMC expulsion?
Twelve Afghan postgraduate residents in FCPS, surgery, urology, radiology, cardiology and other disciplines, plus eight Afghan medical students. The PGRs have been asked to vacate hostels and withdraw from their departments and courses.
Did the Lahore High Court not stop the expulsions?
On September 11, the Lahore High Court suspended the PMDC directive after petitions from 13 Afghan students. QAMC, however, is acting on what it describes as government instructions, not the suspended council notification — the same pattern seen at KEMU and other Punjab colleges.
What happens to the expelled students now?
They must clear their dues, obtain no-objection and clearance certificates, and return to Afghanistan at the earliest. The college has shared their passport numbers with the district police officer, the University of Health Sciences and the Punjab Health Foundation.
