No bar on Baloch students’ admissions in Punjab universities: Minister

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar has informed the Senate that there was no restriction or ban on admission of Baloch students in Punjab’s public sector universities, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Responding to a point raised by Senator Kamran Murtaza in the Senate on Tuesday, Azam Nazeer Tarar said that a total of 3,850 Baloch students were currently enrolled in various universities across Punjab and that their quota remained fully intact.

The minister said majority of these students were studying at Punjab University, Government College University, Bahauddin Zakariya University, the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, and other public sector institutions.

He said that in some universities, fewer admissions had occurred only because applications had not been submitted against the quota.

Providing a gender and merit-wise breakdown, Azam Nazeer Tarar said that out of the total 3,850 students, 3,419 were male and 431 were female. He said 58 percent of the students had secured admission on open merit, while 42 percent were admitted against the reserved Baloch quota, under a uniform policy.

The minister said there was no discrimination in the admission process, explaining that universities followed a consistent yardstick whereby candidates with the highest merit within the quota were granted admission.

Responding to concerns regarding medical college admissions, he said each university regulated admissions in accordance with decisions of its syndicate, while the federal government had issued a general directive encouraging universities to accommodate Baloch students under their respective quota frameworks.

He clarified that there was no ban or restriction on Baloch students’ admission to medical colleges, but minimum merit criteria applied, as medical education was a professional and sensitive field.

Azam Nazeer Tarar said the matter could be further taken up with the Punjab government if needed, adding that senior adviser to the Punjab government Nosheen Rehman had volunteered to pursue the issue at the provincial level.

Despite constraints, Punjab continued to offer admissions to students from Balochistan under special quota arrangements, he said.

The minister assured the House that any further concerns raised by senators would be addressed and necessary facilitation extended to ensure equal educational opportunities for students from all provinces.

Two bills passed

The Senate passed two bills including the Export Development Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the National Tariff Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026 unanimously.

Azam Nazeer Tarar on behalf of Minister for Commerce moved both the bills in the House.

The House passed the bills through clause by clause reading. Earlier the minister moved a motion under Rule 263 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, that the requirement of Rule 120 of the said Rules regarding notice period be dispensed with in order to take into consideration at once the Bills at Order Nos. 6 to 9, as passed by the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, the Law Minister on behalf of Minister for Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Syed Mustafa Shah laid before the Senate the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council Ordinance, 2025 (Ordinance No. IX of 2025), as required by clause (2) of Article 89 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Reporter Usman Khan