Islamabad High Court Questions Afghan Students' Standing to Seek Visa Extensions Amid Pak-Afghan Conflict

The Islamabad High Court, hearing a constitutional petition from 87 Afghan students (58 male, 29 female) enrolled at Islamabad universities whose visa-extension requests have been frozen in the Interior Ministry for 7-11 months, raised doubts on August 29, 2026 about whether Afghan nationals can invoke Pakistan's constitutional jurisdiction at all. Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro asked how the petition could proceed given that 'we are at war with Afghans,' and suggested the students instead pursue the matter through the Afghan embassy rather than the courts. Many petitioners are in their final or penultimate semesters and face losing their academic standing over the frozen visas. The court adjourned without ruling, with the students' counsel to respond to the jurisdictional questions at the next hearing.