This wasn’t just the end of a course; it was the collapse of the only path forward for dozens of young lives.
In Parachinar, a region long scarred by sectarian violence, isolation, and state neglect, the abrupt closure of the BS Nursing program at Khyber Medical University (KMU) is more than a bureaucratic decision; it’s a calculated disservice to a forgotten region. The Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (PNMC) acted without visiting the campus, hearing from students, or issuing a single report. And in the wake of this quiet decision, what remains is confusion, anger, and irreversible harm.
Each year, 50 students, 25 male and 25 female, were enrolled in this program. For many of them, particularly the young women, it was not just an opportunity for education; it was the only one. In a conservative and conflict-affected area where families often cannot afford or allow their daughters to study in cities like Peshawar or Islamabad, KMU Parachinar’s Nursing Department stood as a rare lifeline. It allowed women to learn, to lead, and to give back to a community where trained health workers, especially female nurses, are critically needed.
Now, that lifeline has been severed.
What’s especially troubling is that the PNMC, a federal regulatory body established to uphold educational and professional standards, bypassed every standard it claims to enforce. Despite being empowered under the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (Amendment) Act, 2023, to regulate nursing programs through inspections, accreditation, and ongoing monitoring, the Council took this drastic action without ever setting foot on the Parachinar campus. There was no audit. No warning. No engagement. What should have been a review became a verdict.
And Parachinar is not alone. Other KMU campuses in Kohat, Lakki Marwat, and Bannu reportedly face similar pressures. But the decision to eliminate Parachinar’s program first, in perhaps the most geographically remote and socioeconomically vulnerable district, raises unsettling questions about regional bias. If compliance is the issue, why weren’t inspections conducted? Why weren’t institutions given timelines to improve? Why was Parachinar silenced without being heard?
The consequences are not academic. They are personal, social, and systemic.
In a region already underserved by healthcare infrastructure, locally trained nurses are not a luxury; they are a necessity. They are the first responders in emergencies, the only maternal care providers in many rural clinics, and often the only health professionals women can access. Closing the BS Nursing program not only halts educational access, but it also weakens the region’s ability to care for its own people.
The PNMC’s action also flies in the face of Pakistan’s national and international commitments. Article 25-A of the Constitution guarantees the right to education. Pakistan’s commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and Goal 5 (Gender Equality), obligate the state to expand, not restrict, access to healthcare education, especially for women. The sudden, unexplained removal of a vital educational program in a conflict-affected region is not just a policy failure. It is a violation of equity and constitutional principles.
There is still time to correct course, but only if action is swift, transparent, and just.
The PNMC must send an independent inspection team to KMU Parachinar, evaluate the Nursing Department using published criteria, and engage directly with students and faculty. If deficiencies are found, the institution must be given a fair opportunity to improve. This is how responsible regulation works, through evidence, engagement, and procedural fairness.
More broadly, the federal government must ensure that no public education program is terminated without due process, particularly in vulnerable regions. Institutions should be supported, not blindsided. Communities should be consulted, not excluded. Students, especially those who have overcome geographic, cultural, and financial barriers to reach the classroom, should be protected, not punished.
Because this is not just about one nursing program. It’s about whether Pakistan values every region equally. It’s about whether girls in Parachinar have the same right to dream as those in Lahore or Karachi. And it’s about whether silence, in a place that has been silenced for too long, is once again being used as a weapon.
Parliament, the Ministry of Health, and civil society must intervene. Arbitrary closures must be halted until transparent, on-ground evaluations are conducted. Education cannot, and must not, be erased in the dark.
