Students and practitioners of Unani medicine in Pakistan face an uncertain future. Arsalan Ali, a student training to be a hakeem, worries if his degree will be valid when he graduates. The government recently ordered tibb colleges not to admit new students next session. It plans to merge the National Council for Tibb with the National Council for Homeopathy. This move may close all 40 tibb colleges and leave over 70,000 hakeems without legal recognition. Professor Imran Lodhi of Ajmal Tibbia College explained that tibb and homeopathy follow separate laws and education systems. The current regulation protects hakeems working mostly in rural areas. Practitioners and activists have urged the government to stop the merger. Pakistan Tibbi Alliance’s General Secretary Hakeem Muhammad Sajjad said the draft “National Traditional and Complementary Medicine (NTCAM) Act, 2025” threatens the sector and is linked to IMF-driven budget cuts. Students like Sameera Kamran and Ijaz Ahmed worry about losing affordable education in traditional medicine. They fear families from lower-middle-class backgrounds will lose access to a career in healthcare. Experts say closures will worsen doctor shortages in rural Pakistan, where hakeems often serve. Officials admit the merger is complicated and may cause problems as hakeems and homeopathic doctors do not easily cooperate. The health ministry insists the plan aims to raise standards but is still under discussion. Many practitioners warn that merging councils using different systems is like mixing black tea with coffee. Meanwhile, patient stories highlight reliance on traditional hakeems when modern treatments are unaffordable or unavailable. Until official decisions are confirmed, students like Arsalan continue their training uncertain if the centuries-old tradition of Unani medicine will survive in Pakistan.