Afghan medical graduates in Pakistan can no longer continue house job training at the Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) Bannu, according to an official notification. The MTI ended the house job training of all Afghan MBBS graduates there with immediate effect. An MBBS is a bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery, and a house job is the supervised training year that medical graduates complete before practising on their own. The notification linked the decision to a letter from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC), the national regulator for medical education and practice, and to a letter from the Prime Minister's Office.
What the notification says
The notification was issued on Oct 9 by the dean and chief executive officer of Bannu Medical College. It said the house job training of all Afghan MBBS graduates undergoing training at MTI Bannu stood terminated. The material available for this report does not include the text of the PM&DC letter or the Prime Minister's Office letter, so the exact reasons they contain are not confirmed.
The action was not limited to Bannu. A separate notification from the Office of the Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education, at Nowshera Medical College said the training of Afghan postgraduate medical trainees at Nowshera Medical College and at the Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex had been terminated with immediate effect. The doctors concerned were directed to vacate the premises and leave immediately. The notification names three trainees: two in MCPS (ENT) and one in gynaecology and obstetrics. MCPS is a postgraduate qualification awarded by the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan.
Visas and open questions
The Nowshera notification further states that the trainees' visas had also expired. The sources do not say whether visa status was the reason for ending the training, or whether it applied to the Bannu trainees as well, so it should not be treated as a confirmed cause. No statement from the PM&DC or the Prime Minister's Office is included in the material for this story.
The sources describe two institutional notices and do not include a published national policy document on house jobs for foreign graduates. The notifications do not set out next steps, so it is not yet clear whether the decision applies beyond these institutions. Clarification from the PM&DC or the government would be needed to answer that question.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Bannu ke Medical Teaching Institution ne tamam Afghan MBBS graduates ki house job training foran khatam kar di hai, aur Nowshera mein Afghan postgraduate trainees ko bhi jaane ka kaha gaya hai. Notification ke mutabiq wajah PM&DC aur Prime Minister's Office ke khatoon ko bataya gaya hai, lekin in khatoon ka matan abhi saamne nahi aaya. Pakistan mein is faisle ka dayra abhi wazeh nahi hai. Is par PMDC ya government ki official wazahat ka intezar karna behtar hoga.
