The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has ruled on a petition filed by Afghan students seeking protection from exclusion from the Khyber Medical University (KMU) admission process, ordering the petitioners to submit Afghan passport, Pakistani visa and other required documents within a month.
The court ruled that if students did not provide the required documents within the stipulated time, the university administration would be allowed to make a decision regarding their admission.
The case was heard by a two-judge bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Mudassar Ameer. Advocate Mian Zakir Hussain appeared on behalf of the petitioners, while advocate Abdul Munim Khan represented the KMU administration.
The petitioners’ counsel informed the court that his clients are Afghan nationals who had sought admission to the MBBS program at Khyber Medical College. However, the college administration demanded the submission of passports and visas at an early stage, despite the new admission rules and policies stipulating that foreign nationals are required to submit these documents only after the final merit list is issued.
He argued that the administration’s request before the publication of the final merit list was illegal, especially since border posts were currently closed and all forms of movement suspended. The petitioners had requested the college to allow submission of passports and other documents after the publication of the final merit list, but the administration rejected their request.
Representing the KMU, its legal advisor Abdul Munim Khan told the court that the seats in question were reserved for Afghan citizens and not Afghan refugees. He argued that the applicants did not possess Afghan citizenship or a valid Afghan passport and therefore could not apply without the appropriate documents, including a valid visa.
He further contended that since the applicant had already studied in Pakistan and did not have concrete proof of Afghan citizenship, the university was forced to exclude her from the admission process. However, he added that if the petitioner obtained an Afghan passport and a valid visa and reapplied, she could be included in the process.
After hearing the arguments of both parties, the court granted one month to the petitioners to submit all the required documents and ruled on the writ petition accordingly.
