LHC declares MDCAT paper retrieval illegal

Extends stay on expulsion of Afghan medical students

RAWALPINDI/LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has declared the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council's (PMDC) decision to collect question papers from candidates after the recent Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) illegal and unconstitutional, directing the council to immediately upload the papers to its official application.

Justice Ahsan Raza Kazmi allowed petitions challenging the policy, ruling that collecting question papers from candidates after they had completed the examination was unlawful. The court ordered the PMDC to make the papers available on its official app so that all candidates could access and review them.

The petitions were filed by two candidates, Anabia Tahir and Rehan Shahid. Their counsel, Barrister Imran Afrasiab, argued that candidates should be allowed to retain question papers after completing an examination, adding that this was the established practice worldwide.

He contended that students were entitled to question papers after examinations, including those conducted by schools, colleges and universities, and that examination authorities could not forcibly retrieve them once candidates had been allowed to use them.

Afrasiab said the PMDC had unilaterally introduced the policy this year, requiring candidates to return their question papers along with their answer sheets immediately after the examination. He challenged the move as illegal.

Federal government counsel Malik Zaheer Arshad partially supported the petitioners' position, while the PMDC's lawyer defended the council's decision and urged the court to dismiss the petitions.

After hearing the arguments, the court declared the practice illegal and directed the PMDC to upload the question papers to its official application without delay, enabling candidates to access and study them. The court also ordered immediate implementation of its decision.

Afghan students

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has extended its interim order restraining all medical colleges in Punjab from expelling Afghan students in view of a controversial Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) notification.

Justice Khalid Ishaq on Friday heard petitions filed by more than 30 Afghan students against their expulsion from medical colleges.

During the hearing, the PMDC's counsel sought an adjournment. The court accepted the request, postponed further proceedings, and extended the interim relief granted to the petitioners.

The petitioners submitted that they had secured admission to medical colleges under the Afghan refugees' quota. They maintained that they had gained admission on merit.

In a notification dated September 1, the PMDC ordered medical colleges in Punjab to ask Afghan medical and dental students to complete official formalities for their return to Afghanistan while also suspending future admissions, transfers and migration involving Afghan nationals.

The LHC on September 11 restrained all medical colleges in Punjab from expelling Afghan medical students.