The Peshawar High Court has temporarily halted the deportation of 86 Afghan students enrolled in public medical colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and allowed them to continue their studies until the next hearing, provided there is no other legal reason to stop their education.
Dawn reported that a two-member bench comprising Justice Wiqar Ahmad and Justice Farah Jamshed issued notices to the federal interior secretary, the director general of immigration and passports and the registrar of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, among other respondents.
The court fixed October 12 for the next hearing and directed that the petitioners not be deported before then. It also ordered the case to be linked with a similar petition filed by another Afghan student.
The order is interim rather than a final ruling on the students' long-term immigration or education status.