The vice-chancellor of Khyber Medical University (KMU), Peshawar Prof. 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, led by Mufti Noorullah, Qari Habibullah, and Nusratullah Zia.
Dean basic medical sciences and coordinator centralized admission committee Prof. Dr. Jawad Ahmed, Director admission Muhammad Arshad Khan, deputy registrar establishment Inamullah Wazir, Coordinator to vice-chancellor Muhammad Tayyab and representatives of Afghan students were also present at the occasion.
Welcoming the delegation, Prof. Dr. Zia ul Haq said that thousands of Afghan students are currently being provided higher education opportunities in Pakistan including KMU.
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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. He said that 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.
Prof. Dr. 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.
“Our doors are open to Afghan students and we are working on KMU’s Offshore Campus (International Campus) to provide them with higher education opportunities in Pakistan’s educational institutions as well as in Kabul and other Afghan cities,” he said.
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 so that work on the said proposal could be started.
He assured the delegation that a letter will be issued to Secretary Health Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on a priority basis to reduce the fees of Afghan students while the issue of hostel 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 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and KMU, and cooperation from the concerned institutions. He said that Pakistan has stood by us in every difficult time for which we are deeply grateful to the Government of Pakistan and especially the people of Pakistan on behalf of the Afghan people.
He said that Pakistan has provided us with equal opportunities for health, education, and employment which are exemplary for other brotherly neighboring Muslim countries as well. He said that he would talk to the top officials of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan about the establishment of KMU’s Kabul Campus and insha’Allah the day is not far when our students will be taught in Kabul and other Afghan cities.
He hoped that KMU would continue to work with Afghan students and provide all possible assistance to them in resolving their fees and hostel issues.