PMDC bars Afghanistan-trained Pakistani medical graduates from NRE

Pakistani citizens holding medical or dental degrees from institutions in Afghanistan will not be eligible to sit the National Registration Examination (MRE) or obtain registration to practise in Pakistan, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has clarified.

In a public notice issued for Pakistani students and graduates pursuing medical and dental education abroad, the PMDC said foreign graduates must pass the National Registration Examination before they can be registered and work as doctors or dentists in the country.

However, Pakistani graduates of medical and dental institutions in Afghanistan will not be allowed to appear in the examination because those institutions are not currently included in the list recognised by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates.

According to the notice, only Pakistani citizens who have obtained their primary medical or dental qualification from a foreign institution included in the ECFMG-recognised list and meet all other prescribed conditions will be eligible for the NRE.

The council said it had become aware that several Pakistani students were studying medicine and dentistry in Afghanistan. It warned that graduates of Afghan institutions would not qualify for the NRE, PMDC registration or permission to practise medicine or dentistry in Pakistan under the existing rules.

The PMDC advised Pakistani students already studying in Afghanistan, as well as those considering admission to medical or dental colleges there, to carefully assess the future professional consequences before making a decision.

It said no relaxation, exemption or special permission would be granted from the prescribed eligibility criteria.

The council said the notice had been issued in the public interest to protect students from future difficulties and provide timely information about regulations governing the recognition of foreign medical and dental qualifications in Pakistan.