KMU to Establish Off-Shore Campus at Kabul

Khyber Medical University (KMU) Peshawar is eager to establish an offshore campus in the Afghan capital Kabul. This was stated by Prof. Dr. Zia ul Haq vice chancellor KMU while talking to various Afghan officials in response to the offer made by the Afghan government to open a sub-campus in Kabul during his recent visit to Afghanistan. The KMU delegation led by vice chancellor Prof. Dr. Zia ul Haq and comprising Pro vice chancellor Prof. Dr. Lal Muhammad Khattak, renowned surgeon Dr. Mushtaq, Dr. Waqar and deputy director Media & Protocol Alamgir Afridi.  
It is worth mentioning that the KMU delegation recently participated in an international seminar on the role of neighboring countries in peace in Afghanistan jointly organized by the Center for Strategic and Regional Studies Kabul and the Institute of Regional Studies Peshawar at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul. In addition to attending the seminar and chairing the health working session, the KMU vice chancellor Prof. Dr. Zia ul Haq along with his team met Dr. Qalandar Ibad, Minister of Health of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Hafiz Muhammad Haseeb, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Fazlur Rehman Rahmani, vice chancellor Kabul Medical University and Masood Ahmad Khan, Ambassador of Pakistan in Kabul. Issues were discussed during these meetings in which senior Afghan officials expressed special interest in proposing the establishment of a KMU campus in Kabul.
According to the details, KMU will set up a campus in the light of the Higher Education Commission Islamabad's offshore campus establishment policy and guidelines with the approval of HEC and Foreign Ministry for which the building was provided by the Afghan government, whereas KMU will provide teaching and administrative support.
As per preliminary information, KMU has submitted a three-tier plan for the establishment of the proposed campus to the Afghan government through the Embassy of Pakistan at Kabul, which will be implemented gradually. The first phase of the project will consist of BS programs in 12 disciplines of Allied Health Sciences besides Nursing, Physiotherapy, Public Health, Vision Sciences, Nutrition and Pharmacy programs. MS, MD and clinical diploma courses will be started in the second phase while the third phase will consist of MBBS, BDS and various diploma and short course programs.
It is essential to share that the purpose of establishing KMU Kabul campus is to provide opportunities for Afghan students to pursue higher education and training in various fields of medical education at their doorstep. This idea was came on surface some two month back during a meeting between the KMU  vice chancellor and Afghan Councilor General at Peshawar Hafiz Mohibullah on the issues of Afghan students.