The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has temporarily halted the deportation of 14 Afghan medical and dental students enrolled at colleges across Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad and Justice Farah Jamshed issued notices to the relevant authorities and directed them to submit written responses within 14 days. The court adjourned the case until October 12.

The students told the court that they had been admitted to medical and dental colleges under the Afghan quota through the prescribed legal process. They said Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) had also issued them no-objection certificates (NOCs) to facilitate their visa applications.

The case follows decisions by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) on July 31 and September 1 to cancel the admissions of Afghan students and direct them to return to Afghanistan as part of Pakistan’s ongoing repatriation policy.

The students’ lawyer argued that the PMDC decisions were issued without prior notice and conflicted with the NOCs previously granted by the HEC.

He also referred to a similar ruling by the Lahore High Court, which suspended PMDC orders affecting Afghan medical students.

Pending further proceedings, the Peshawar High Court has directed that the 14 students be allowed to continue their education while their case is under consideration.

Former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has criticized Pakistan’s approach to Afghanistan following reported Pakistani airstrikes in the eastern Afghan provinces of Kunar and Paktika, saying Islamabad needs to change its strategy.

In a statement posted on X on Monday afternoon, Khalilzad said the latest attacks had again resulted in civilian deaths and argued that Pakistan’s current approach was failing to address its internal challenges or its relationship with Afghanistan.

“Once again Pakistan has attacked Afghanistan killing civilians,” Khalilzad wrote, adding that the strikes came as what he described as Pakistan’s internal crises intensified.

“More of the same is not the solution,” he said, using the analogy that when someone is in a hole, “the smart thing to do is to stop digging.”

Khalilzad called for a change in Pakistan’s strategy toward what he described as key internal crises as well as Afghanistan. He also said he remained doubtful that Pakistan’s current leadership would change course.

“The current approach means more bad news for Pakistan and Afghanistan,” he said.

His comments came after Pakistani airstrikes were reported in Kunar and Paktika early Monday. UNAMA said at least three civilians — a man, a woman and a girl — were killed and four others injured in apparent airstrikes in Kunar.

Pakistan said its military had carried out “calibrated” strikes against militant targets in the border region with Afghanistan, claiming that 28 militants were killed. Islamabad said the targets included hideouts and a training centre belonging to militant groups, Dawn News reported.

Afghan authorities condemned the strikes, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoning Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul and handing him a formal protest. Afghan officials have rejected Pakistan’s allegations that militant attacks inside Pakistan originate from Afghan territory.

The latest strikes have renewed tensions between the two neighbours after nearly three months of relative calm. The dispute has centred on Pakistan’s allegations that armed groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), operate from Afghan territory — allegations the Afghan authorities deny.

Khalilzad, who served as the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation from 2018 to 2021, has previously commented on tensions between Kabul and Islamabad. His latest statement adds to growing calls for a diplomatic approach as cross-frontier violence continues to affect civilians in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul and lodged a formal protest over reported Pakistani airstrikes in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Paktika.

The ministry said the strikes, which were carried out in the early hours of Monday morning, violated Afghanistan’s airspace, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and accused Pakistan of targeting civilian areas and facilities.

According to the ministry, a formal letter of protest was handed to the Pakistani diplomat, strongly condemning what it described as violations of Afghan territory.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry also rejected claims that recent security incidents in Pakistan originated from Afghan territory, describing such allegations as baseless.

The ministry said such claims should not be used to justify military action against Afghanistan, and urged Pakistan to address its security and political challenges by focusing on their underlying causes rather than blaming other countries.

The latest developments follow reports of Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces amid heightened tensions between the two neighbouring countries.

Afghan authorities have called for respect for Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and warned against further military action on Afghan soil.