Pakistan: Afghan Students With Valid Visas Can Continue Their Studies

DID Press: Sajjad Haider Khan, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, has said Afghanistan is not an “enemy country” and that Afghan students holding valid legal documents and visas can remain in Pakistan and continue their studies.

In his first weekly press briefing, Khan said no decision had been made to return all Afghan students to Afghanistan and that students with valid visas could continue to reside and study in Pakistan.

However, Pakistani journalist Tahir Khan, citing a number of Afghan students, reported that even some students holding valid visas had been pressured to return to Afghanistan.

The remarks come amid confusion over Pakistan’s recent directives concerning Afghan students. Pakistan’s Medical and Dental Council has instructed medical and dental institutions to facilitate the return of Afghan students already enrolled in such programs, while Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has said that students without valid visas must leave the country and that visa-extension applications from Afghan students are still being processed under existing rules.

Pakistan’s official visa policy also provides for study visas for Afghan nationals at university level, subject to the required documentation and approvals.