The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) has announced that Pakistani students who graduate from medical or dental colleges in Afghanistan can no longer take the National Registration Examination (NRE). This exam is required to get a licence and practise medicine or dentistry in Pakistan.
In a public notice issued on 31 July 2026, the council explained that only graduates from foreign institutions recognised by the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) are allowed to sit the NRE. Medical and dental colleges in Afghanistan are not on the ECFMG list. Therefore, their graduates cannot appear in the exam or register with PM&DC to work as doctors or dentists in Pakistan.
The decision follows a policy approved by the council in 2025. PM&DC said it will not give any exemption or special permission. It advised all Pakistani students already studying in Afghanistan, or planning to join colleges there, to check recognition status carefully and make informed choices.
Many Pakistani students, especially from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, chose Afghan colleges because of lower fees and the short distance from home. The foreign ministry estimates around 1,300 Pakistanis are studying in Afghanistan in different fields, though some student groups claim higher numbers for medical courses alone.
