Pakistan’s medical council has announced that it does not recognize medical and dental degrees issued by higher education institutions in Afghanistan. The council stated that Pakistani graduates of these institutions will not be eligible to obtain medical licenses or practice professionally in Pakistan.
In a statement issued on Thursday, July 31, the council said that only Pakistani nationals holding medical or dental degrees from foreign institutions approved by the Pakistan Foreign Medical Graduates Education Commission are eligible to sit the National Medical Examination.
According to the statement, medical and dental colleges and institutions in Afghanistan are currently not included on the list of institutions recognized by the Pakistan Medical Council. Consequently, degrees awarded by these institutions will not be accepted for registration with the country’s medical regulatory system or for obtaining a license to practice medicine in Pakistan.
The council further clarified that graduates of Afghan medical and dental schools are not eligible to take the National Medical Examination. As a result, they will also be ineligible to receive official authorization to practice their profession in Pakistan.
The council advised Pakistani citizens who are currently studying medicine or dentistry in Afghanistan, or who are considering pursuing such studies there, to carefully review these restrictions before selecting an institution and to take them into account when making their educational decisions.
In another section of the statement, the council emphasized that no requests for exemptions, exceptions, or special consideration regarding the announced requirements will be entertained, and that the regulations will be enforced without exception.
No official figures have been released regarding the number of Pakistani students currently enrolled in medical and dental programs in Afghanistan. However, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn previously reported, citing representatives of the students, that more than 1,000 Pakistani students are studying at medical colleges across Afghanistan.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
