ISLAMABAD: Member National Assembly (MNA) Noor Alam Khan has submitted a bill to repeal the Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) Act 2021, alleging that former prime minister Imran Khan wanted to introduce American policies/system which were not feasible in Pakistan.

The Act was passed during the tenure of the PTI government and has been introduced at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Islamabad. Moreover, similar legislation was made in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab as well.

According to a draft of the bill, Pims was established in 1985 as tertiary care hospital/research centre. The institute comprises nine components - five hospitals and four teaching institutes. These are: Islamabad Hospital, Children Hospital, Mother and Child Hospital (MCH), Burn Care Centre, Cardiac Care Centre, College of Medical Technology, College of Nursing, School of Dentistry and Quaid-i-Azam Postgraduate Medical Centre.

“The institute was working smoothly and enhancing the services regularly but during the previous regime the status of the institute was changed from an attached department of the federal government to an autonomous body i.e. federal MTI like in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) due to which the ailing humanity and the federal government servants etc., are suffering a lot and the services are deteriorated day by day and employees are being frustrated,” it stated.

Says ex-PM introduced American system which was not feasible in Pakistan

“Keeping in view the above said situation it is proposed that the Federal Medical Teaching Institutes Act 2021 (Act No.XII of 2021) may be repealed and the department may be declared as an attached department of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) for smooth functioning and improvement of the institute,” it stated.

Noor Alam Khan, a dissident legislator of the PTI, while talking to Dawn said it was an individual’s bill but he had already done lobbying to ensure that it sails through parliament.

“Imran Khan had imported the MTI system from America as per advice of his cousin Dr Nosherwan Barki, but did not realise that the American system is not feasible in Pakistan due to different cultural and social issues. Earlier, the same system was introduced in KP due to which the whole province suffered as I personally observed the situation at the Lady Reading Hospital and Khyber Teaching Hospital in Peshawar,” he said.

Replying to a question, Mr Khan expressed the hope that the bill will be tabled during the current week and will be referred to the stranding committee.

However, a doctor at Pims, requesting not to be quoted, said the bill should have been tabled by the ministry of NHS as Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel had given an assurance that the ministry would move the bill.

“We have a very bad experience regarding private bills as during the tenure of the PML-N a bill related to Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University was moved by MNA retired Major Tahir Iqbal but it could not be passed for four years. Finally, then federal minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry tabled the bill and it was passed. We also have an issue with Pakistan Medical Commission and expect that the ministry will look into it as well,” he said.

In November 2020, President Arif Alvi promulgated the MTI ordinance suggesting that the hospital will be run through a board of governor.

According to the ordinance, the BoG will deal with all affairs of Pims. The members of the BoG were appointed and notified by the ministry of NHS on the recommendation of a search and nomination council. Though employees protested against the ordinance it sailed through the parliament.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2022