PESHAWAR
The vice-chancellor of Khyber Medical University (KMU), Peshawar Dr Zia ul Haq has said that KMU plans to open an offshore campus in Kabul to provide health education facilities to Afghan students at their doorstep.
He expressed these views during a meeting with a high-level delegation of the Consulate General of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in Peshawar.
The delegation led by Mufti Noorullah, Qari Habibullah, and Nusratullah Zia from Afghanistan met with dean basic medical sciences and coordinator centralized admission committee Dr Jawad Ahmed, Director admission Muhammad Arshad Khan, deputy registrar establishment Inamullah Wazir, Coordinator to vice-chancellor Muhammad Tayyab and representatives of Afghan students in Peshawar.
Welcoming the delegation, Dr Zia ul Haq said that thousands of Afghan students are currently being provided higher education opportunities in Pakistan including KMU.
He said that the suffering of the Afghan nation over the last several decades was felt by all Pakistanis and especially the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
KMU was not only providing educational services to Afghan students in MBBS and BDS but also providing education and training opportunities in various fields of nursing, physiotherapy, public health, and allied health sciences, he added.
Zia ul Haq said that besides Allama Iqbal Scholarships, the Government of Pakistan had reserved seats for Afghan students in various educational institutions on which Afghan students are being provided facilities to pay fees at the rate of Pakistani students.
The establishment plan is being implemented, the initial approval of which has been obtained from the KMU Syndicate in addition to the Higher Education Commission, Islamabad.
He urged the delegation of the Islamic Emirate to talk to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan through the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to implement the proposed project. He assured the delegation that a letter will be issued to Secretary Health KP on a priority basis to reduce the fees of Afghan students while the issue of hostels for female students will also be resolved soon.
Earlier, Mufti Noorullah apprised the Afghan students about the availability of educational facilities in Pakistan especially in KP and KMU, and cooperation from the concerned institutions.
