• DC urges civil society, elected representatives to help reopen institution by tomorrow
• Says nursing college registration also at risk due to protests in Rawalakot
MUZAFFARABAD: A senior government official in the troubled Poonch district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has appealed to civil society, local elected representatives and other influential members of the community to help ensure the reopening of the area’s medical college before Aug 10, warning that continued closure could cost around 500 students an academic year and also jeopardise the registration of a proposed nursing college.
In a press release, Poonch Deputy Commissioner Syed Mumtaz Kazmi said that the Poonch Medical College, Rawalakot, located a few hundred yards from the outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee’s (JAAC) Eidgah sit-in, had been forced to suspend academic and administrative activities because the administration was unable to function amid the prevailing security situation.
The organisers of the sit-in had established checkpoints on roads leading to the college, while armed and stick-wielding individuals had been carrying out illegal checking of commuters and pelting stones, creating an atmosphere of fear that had disrupted academic activities at the institution for the past two months, he said, holding JAAC leaders responsible for the situation.
According to the deputy commissioner, around 500 students, enrolled in five academic classes, were studying at the college, including students from all 10 AJK districts, as well as Gilgit-Baltistan and different parts of Pakistan.
He said the college was affiliated with University of Health Sciences (UHS), Lahore, whose academic calendar and regulations were followed by all medical colleges in Pakistan and AJK. Failure to complete mandatory attendance and examinations in accordance with the prescribed timeline, he warned, could cause irreparable academic loss to students.
Quoting the college principal, Mr Kazmi said the institution would need to reopen immediately to enable students from far-flung areas to complete their biometric attendance, after which a three-day examination could be conducted before the Internal Assessment scheduled by UHS on Aug 15. Otherwise, he warned, the students would lose their entire academic session, resulting in further academic complications and mental distress for both students and the college administration.
The deputy commissioner pointed out that AJK’s two other public sector medical colleges — in Muzaffarabad and Mirpur — had resumed academic activities about three weeks ago.
He said the prolonged closure of Poonch Medical College would adversely affect its UHS rating and leave its students at least one academic year behind their counterparts studying at other medical colleges, besides reinforcing concerns about the institution’s future.
Mr Kazmi further said the registration process for the nursing college attached to Poonch Medical College had also suffered because of the protests and sit-ins.
According to him, the Pakistan Nursing Council was scheduled to conduct an inspection during the second week of August, and failure to hold the visit on time could deprive Poonch district of the proposed nursing college and its associated benefits.
The deputy commissioner said the district administration wanted to convene an urgent meeting with local elected representatives, notables and other influential persons to formulate a comprehensive security plan aimed at preventing academic losses to future doctors.
He also appealed to the Kashmiri diaspora, academics, civil society and all those concerned to play their role in ensuring that the college became operational before Aug 10. He said standard operating procedures and a security plan could be devised to secure the college premises and its approach roads, with implementation requiring the cooperation of all stakeholders.
The deputy commissioner warned that if the situation persisted, students might have to be transferred to other medical colleges, while the proposed nursing college could also fail to secure registration, resulting in what he described as an irreparable loss for Poonch district in particular and AJK in general.
Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2026
