Medical degrees from Pakistan occupied Kashmir not recognised: Why India passed this order

New Delhi, Aug 18: The degrees awarded by medical colleges in Pakistan occupied Kashmir will not be recognised by India. The Medical Council of India declared in a public notice the move.

The announcement comes months after the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir asked the MCI and External Affairs Ministry to review its stand to see if students who study medicine in these territories will be allowed to practice.

A Kashmiri woman who studied medicine in Pakistan occupied Kashmir filed a petition in the High Court after she was not allowed to sit for the exam meant for those who studied abroad.

The MCI in its order said, this inform all concerned that entire territories of UT of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh are an integral part of India.

Pakistan is in illegal and forcible occupation of a part of the territory. Accordingly, any medical institution in Pakistan occupied Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh (POJKL) requires permission/recognition under the Indian Medical Council Act 1956.

Such permission has not been granted to any medical college in PoJKL. Therefore, any qualification obtained from medical colleges within these illegally occupied areas of India shall not entitle a person for grant of registration under

Indian Medical Council Act 1956 to practice modern medicine in India.

It may be recalled that the security agencies had red flagged the outreach by the Imran Khan government, which had in February announced a scheme to extend scholarships to 1,600 Kashmiri students.

The security agencies had said that Pakistan had been offering cheaper education options to Kashmiri students for many years and this had been done on the recommendation of the separatist. It was also pointed out that many had gone to Pakistan through legal channels and some had even been indoctrinated into terror and then returned through the Line of Control.