The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has approved a revised division of 334 reserved medical college seats for students from the province’s merged districts, the areas that were once part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The changes cover the 2026-27 academic session.
Under the new policy, Upper and Lower South Waziristan will each receive 21 seats. Previously, the two districts shared a combined pool of 42 seats. A notification issued by the provincial home department sets out the allocation, which the notification says the KP governor approved on October 30.
How the 334 seats are distributed across merged districts
The notification breaks down the seats by district group. The figures are as follows:
- 114 seats for Bajaur, North Waziristan and Khyber
- 111 seats for Orakzai, Kurram and Mohmand
- 67 seats, made up of seven for each of the nine sub-divisions and four joint open-merit seats
Together these groups account for the full total of 334 seats.
Court ruling behind the South Waziristan revision
The change follows a dispute that began after South Waziristan was split into Upper and Lower districts in October 2022. Students from Lower South Waziristan challenged the earlier arrangement, arguing that the government should devise a fresh and equitable method for dividing seats among the tribal districts.
In July 2026, the Peshawar High Court directed the provincial Home Department to reconsider its policy and create a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory mechanism after consulting relevant stakeholders. The court said that applying a policy framed before the division could no longer be justified on territorial or population grounds. It also noted that the region had been among those most severely affected by terrorism.
The court ordered the revised policy to be placed before the provincial cabinet. The cabinet then approved an equal split of the 42 seats between Upper and Lower South Waziristan for 2026-27.
Quota history for former FATA students
The quota system for students from the former FATA was originally administered at the federal level, before the region merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Authority later passed to the provincial government, which extended the quota policy until 2028.
In the 2025-26 session, a total of 333 medical and dental college seats were allocated to students from the merged districts. The revision is intended to reflect administrative changes in the former tribal areas while producing a more equitable spread of educational opportunities.
