Pakistan Extends Afghan Student Visas Amid Illegal Foreigner Repatriation Plan

Pakistan said on September 9, 2026 that it is still processing Afghan student visa extension applications under existing rules, even as it warned that foreign nationals without a valid visa and passport face deportation under the Illegal Foreigner Repatriation Plan.

Sajjad Haider Khan, the Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson, framed the policy as a continuing review rather than a blanket extension.

“Our relevant institutions continue to process visa extension applications of Afghan students in Pakistan in line with our existing policy, rules and regulations,” Khan said.

“As per the Illegal Foreigner Repatriation Plan (IFRP), stay of any foreign national without valid visa and passport is illegal and the concerned individual is liable to deportation.”

The warning put two tracks side by side. Applications can still move. Overstays can still trigger removal.

The dispute has also landed before the Islamabad High Court, where 87 Afghan students are seeking relief over one-year visas issued in 2023. Their extension requests were argued on August 29, 2026.

Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro told counsel to take the matter through diplomatic channels. He said:

“You should go to the Afghan embassy and your case will be heard there. The Afghan embassy will contact the Pakistani embassy.”

Another account of the hearing said the judge questioned the legal basis of the petition and remarked, “we are at war with Afghanistan.” Afghan students have sought court protection from arrest, detention, and deportation while their extensions remain pending.

Kabul Police Command spokesman Khalid Zadran condemned Pakistan’s move affecting Afghan medical and dental students, saying it was especially harsh for those in their final year.

Medical and dental students got a separate order

A separate notice from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council dated September 1, 2026 added a sharper restriction for Afghan students in medical and dental programs. The council ordered already enrolled Afghan students to return to Afghanistan.

It also barred new Afghan admissions for the current academic year. Institutions were told to complete exit formalities for affected students.

The notice was described as applying only to Afghan students, not other nationalities. That left their case distinct from the wider repatriation policy, and narrower in form.

Pakistan’s foreign office kept its line unchanged on September 9, saying the applications continue to be processed case by case under existing policy, rules and regulations. The phrase left no hint of automatic renewal.

The pressure now runs through the courts, the repatriation plan, and the medical schools at once. It is still moving.