Islamabad – Phase III of the Allama Muhammad Iqbal Scholarships to Afghan Nationals has officially been opened by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan and is expected to provide 4,500 fully funded scholarships to Afghan students.
Announced on September 1, 2025, this extensive educational program is set to give Afghan students a chance to study at top Pakistani universities, as part of the twofold objective of enhancing bilateral relations and helping the aspirations of Afghan students.
The scholarship program, a continuation of the earlier stages, is an important move towards strengthening the educational and cultural relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It aims to provide a new generation of Afghans with an opportunity to acquire specific knowledge and skills that will help them to improve the functioning of their country in the future. These scholarships will be offered in the broadest possible field, allowing a diverse pool of students to take advantage of this opportunity.
Areas of Study
The Allama Iqbal Scholarships are meant to be all-inclusive and cater to all the major expenses of the chosen students. The fully sponsored scholarships will cover living allowance, a book allowance, hostel dues, and the full university tuition fees. Also, students will be given a one-time travel allowance to assist in their relocation.
The students of Afghanistan have a range of disciplines that they can study, which means a wide range of academic options. The fields of study include:
· Medicine
· Engineering
· Agriculture
· Management Sciences
· Social Sciences
· Computer Science
This is a diverse list of areas that show the strategic attempt to prepare the students of Afghanistan in those areas that are vital to the national and regional development.
Comprehensive Eligibility and Application Process
Each academic level has certain eligibility requirements in the scholarship program to be fair and to have high academic standards.
In the case of the Undergraduate Program, the applicant should be at least 17 years old and should not exceed the maximum age of 23 years; the applicant should have also completed 12 years of education with a minimum of 60 percent mark in general subjects and 65 percent in medical and engineering disciplines.
Applicants should all satisfy the requirements of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) and the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), respectively.
In case of master’s programs, the person should be between 16 and 35 years old with a minimum CGPA of 2.5/4.0.
Ph.D. candidates should possess an 18-year education (MS/MPhil) and should be less than 35 (40 in the case of faculty members) years of age with a minimum of 3.0 out of 4.0 CGPA. The Ph.D. students have to have studied the same subject during their Master and Ph.D. studies.
All scholarships will be given strictly on merit. Foreign qualified candidates are required to present equivalence certificates by the Inter Board Committee of Chairman (IBCC) or HEC. It is also pointed out that neither MS/Ph.D. scholarships will be offered in the clinical medical sciences, nor will those who have already been awarded other government scholarships be able to apply.
One of the requirements of all awardees is that they must not leave Afghanistan after getting their degrees, so that their skills and the acquired knowledge can benefit their home country.
It is an online application process and has a deadline of September 30, 2025. No hard copy applications will be received. It is highly recommended that the applicants check the official HEC site and emails regularly, as occasionally there are important updates.
The applicants may also address their queries to the HEC Project Director in Pakistan or the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul through the contact information given.
