Medical Council of India refuses MBBS degree recognition to Pakistan occupied Kashmir Colleges

Srinagar: The Medical Council of India(MCI), in a definitive stand has refused to give recognition to MBBS degrees of colleges located in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, said reports on Sunday. Quoting a student enrolled in the Azad Jammu Kashmir Medical College, in 2012, the Hindu revealed, that on completion of course when he applied to the MCI for degree validation, the education regulator disallowed him from writing the exam.

The student said that the MCI's response to him was that MBBS degrees from Pakistan alone were recognized by it, but adding that degrees granted by colleges in PaK( Pakistan occupied Kashmir) held no validity with it.

There are three medical colleges in PaK —'Azad Jammu and Kashmir Medical College' in Muzaffarabad; 'Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Medical College' in Mirpur; and Poonch Medical College in Rawalakot. All three commenced functioning after 2011.

20 students are sent to medical colleges in Pakistan every year on the recommendation of separatist leaders and relatives of divided families in the Kashmir Valley. Children of slain militants also have the option of studying in Pakistani medical colleges.

The PaK-based medical colleges, which enjoy the affiliation of both 'University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir', and the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council, have reserved 6% seats for students on this side of the Line of Control (LoC) reports Kashmir Reader.

More than 50 students from J&K are pursuing medicine in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, presently.