PHC allows Afghan student to attend Islamia College

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday suspended a decision of the Islamia College administration and allowed an Afghan student to attend classes in the institution till the next order.

A two-member bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Syed Arshad Ali suspended the decision of the college management, which had refused admission to the student under the quota for the Afghan students.

The bench issued a notice to the principal and registrar of the college to submit reply and explain why admission was refused to the Afghan student although he was qualified for it.

The court issued the stay order in a writ petition by Hidayatullah, the student from Afghanistan, filed through his lawyer Muhammad Ali.

It was stated that the petitioner applied for admission in the college under the Afghan student quota and he, as per the merit list, qualified for admission on the allocated seat.

However, it said the college administration refused admission to him on the ground that he did not have an Afghan passport.

The petition stated that in prospectus of the college, there was no condition of passport for the Afghan nationals.

It was stated that acquiring passport for the student would take three months to again visit his homeland and apply for the passport, which is difficult for him to produce within a short time and he would thus lose his one academic year.

The petition mentioned that the Afghan student had a Proof of Registration (PoR) card. He requested the court to allow him to take classes till decision in the petition.