By Syed Ahmad Rufai
A sense of palpable fear overwhelms her, cracking her voice, as Asma (a pseudonym) talks of her experiences over a WhatsApp call. She fears the consequences of sharing her journey with a revealed identity.
For the past three years, Asma has checked the Indian National Medical Commission’s (NMC) website every day for updates on her eligibility certificate. A recent graduate of the Peoples University of Medical and Health Sciences for Women in Sindh, Pakistan, she is still awaiting confirmation on the application she submitted in 2021.
The certificate will let Asma sit for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), a license exam conducted by India’s National Board of Examinations (NBE) for Indian citizens with foreign medical degrees to practice medicine in India.
Hundreds of medical students like Asma from the Kashmir valley in India who pursued their degrees in Pakistan, including Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, now find themselves trapped in a bureaucratic limbo, unable to practice medicine in India despite years of training and investment.
Asma, a student from uptown Srinagar in Indian administered Kashmir — a region claimed in full by both India and Pakistan — traveled to pursue her medical studies in Pakistan in late 2019. It was just months after the Indian government unilaterally abrogated Article 370 and 35A, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and downgraded it to a Union Territory.
Unable to secure a medical college in India under the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) — a highly competitive public exam conducted yearly by the National Testing Agency (NTA) of India for students to get enrolled in medical colleges, Asma opted for one in Pakistan as it was both economically viable and geographically closer to her home.
But, in 2022, her dreams of earning the title “Dr” and practicing medicine in Kashmir were put on hold.
On April 28, 2002, NMC issued a public notice advising Indian students against enrolling in medical colleges in Pakistan. This had come after a joint cautionary advisory from the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) published on April 22, 2022.
According to the NMC notice, any Indian citizen or Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) seeking admission to an MBBS or BDS program in a Pakistani medical college would not be eligible to appear for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) or seek employment opportunities in India. The notice further added that the restriction did not apply to those who joined Pakistani institutions before December 2018 or joined after obtaining security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) at any time up to the present.
According to a February 2025 report by The Hindu, 256 students (of which 155 are women) who pursued their bachelor’s degrees in medicine between 2014 and 2018 from Pakistan are yet to be recognized as doctors in India as they are waiting for the security clearance from MHA. The report adds that during COVID-19, around 700 Kashmiri students were pursuing MBBS degrees in Pakistan, and around 100 new students used to travel every year to Pakistan.
Iltija (a pseudonym), a 2015–16 batch medical graduate from Pakistan, expressed her concerns in a WhatsApp interview about the 2022 public notice that barred students who began their studies in 2019 from qualifying for the FMGE. “The students were already in their third year of college when this notification was made public,” she told Global Voices.
According to her, the issuance of the eligibility certificate does not comply with the notice.
“Even though we had graduated way before 2018, we are unable to get eligibility certificates to be qualified to practice medicine as valid doctors.”
Iltija highlights the plight of many students who graduated before 2018. “We work in private hospitals as observers, but remain off the official records as doctors because we lack the eligibility certificate required to practise.”
In 2024, Jammu and Kashmir Parlimentary member Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi raised the issue of recognition of Pakistan’s medical degrees. In response, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reiterated that the public notice issued by the NMC in 2022 remains in force.
NMC officials did not respond to questions Global Voices sent by email.
Nasir Qadri, a human rights lawyer and Executive Director at Legal Forum for Kashmir, an international non-violent legal organication, told Global Voices over a phone call that education is a universal right. In the Indian Constitution, it is a fundamental right.
Haider (a pseudonym), who graduated from Jinnah Sindh Medical University in 2024, has been closely following the developments since the NMC’s public notice was issued in 2022.
For Haider, travelling to Pakistan for his studies was never an issue. One of his university classmates who also his neighbor in Kashmir, is now a recognized doctor at the Government Medical College, Srinagar. “People have been pursuing their medical degrees from Pakistan since a long time now. It was never a problem.”
He added that while Pakistani institutions charge around INR 20 lakhs (USD 22,860) for a medical degree, fees at India’s private colleges range between INR 50 lakhs (USD 57,160) to 1 crore (USD 114,320).
Economic viability, shared cultural practices, and geographic proximity are among the reasons hundreds of students go to Pakistan to pursue their studies.
Asma and Haider were among hundreds of students who crossed Attari-Wagah border to reach their universities.
Haider recalls how straining it was to cross the border for their studies. “Even officials at the border would question us about why we had taken admission in Pakistan.”
Since 2018, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) has been mandatory for Indian students wishing to study MBBS abroad if they intend to practise in India. In February 2025, the Supreme Court upheld the NMC's rule, confirming that students seeking admission to foreign medical colleges must clear NEET, which will serve as proof of eligibility.
However, for those who study in Pakistan, even passing the NEET is not always enough.
In the aftermath of the 2022 public notice, Pakistani medical authorities decided to grant “permanent/full licenses” to medical and dental graduates from Jammu and Kashmir for three years, enabling them to practice in Pakistan and pursue higher medical education and employment abroad, according to a 2024 article from the Pakistani outlet The News International.
Iltija’s mental health has suffered under the weight of societal pressure for studying medicine in Pakistan, coupled with the lack of employment opportunities in Kashmir.
Haider, now back in Kashmir after completing his degree, watches as his batch-mates who studied medicine in Bangladesh, Iran, and other countries are already practicing in India. “There is always a regret for the decision I made to go to Pakistan for my studies.”
Without the licence to practice, Haider and other students can only practice observership in Kashmir.
Security verifications have been carried out, and MHA officials have visited Haider’s home in Srinagar to question him about his admission plans, travel routes to Pakistan, and payment transactions. He has also been summoned to police stations to record statements for verification. “I have even answered Special Security Questionnaires,” Haider sighed.
“They don’t even want me to name where I study — like it’s Voldemort,” Asma said, recalling an incident at her relative’s home. “I hope it’s a joke when people say they don’t want to associate with us because we study in Pakistan.” According to Asma, there is a subtle form of social ostracism.
“The tag of studying in Pakistan stays,” Haider added, pointing to the growing taboo and othering within Indian society. “People used to hesitate to call me when I was in Pakistan.”
Qadri filed a complaint with the UN Working Group when the 2022 notice was issued. “The narrative criminalizing people who study in Pakistan has led to their social exclusion; nobody accommodates them anymore,” he said.
Asma added that this could alter the work demographics in Kashmir. “If we are unable to practice here, the posts will have to be filled by people from outside Kashmir.”
This article is republished from GlobalVoices under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
(GlobalVoices/NS)
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