ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Medicinal Commission (PMC) has again reached at a standstill as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has withdrawn the nomination of its seven out of nine members.

The PMC was established after dissolving Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) through the Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance 2019 and replaced later by Pakistan Medical Commission Act 2020.

A search committee will shortlist the names of the new members and forward them to the Prime Minister Office for nomination again.

According to a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) issued by the government: “In exercise of powers conferred by the PMC Act 2020, the nominating authority i.e. Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has withdrawn the nomination of all members of the Medical and Dental Council notified on 25th September 2020.”

Search committee to shortlist names of new members, forward them to PM Office

As per the PMC Act, out of the nine members, the prime minister was authorised to nominate seven, including three from civil society, three licensed medical practitioners and one licensed dentist.

The surgeon general of the armed forces and the secretary of the health ministry are ex-officio members of the commission.

“The prime minister was getting complaints from students all over the country, especially from Balochistan, as there was no representation of provinces in the PMC and it was creating a sense of deprivation among provinces,” said sources in the government.

PMC’s controversial policies

The appointment of PMC members and subsequent policies and actions remained under the spotlight of controversies.

At the very outset, on Feb 11, 2020, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) after hearing a petition had declared: “The PMC Ordinance 2019 is no doubt a fraud on the Constitution on the touchstone of Fahad Malik case and the appointment/nomination of following members of the PMC (appointed in terms of Section 4 of the PMC Ordinance 2019) was illegal and void.”

These included President Dr Arshad Taqi of Hameed Latif Hospital, Lahore, Vice President Mohammad Ali Raza Advocate, founding and senior partner of Raza Khalil Abbasi Suhrawardy (RKA ) Law Firm Islamabad; members Roshaneh Zafar of Kashf Foundation, Lahore, Chartered Accountant Tariq Ahmad Khan, a partner of Chartered Accountancy Firm Baker Tilly, Islamabad, Dr Rumina Hasan of Aga Khan University, Dr Asif Loya of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, Lahore, and dental member Dr Anisur Rahman, Islamabad.

The PMC awarded a controversial multi-million of rupees contract for conducting the medical and dental colleges’ admission test (MDCAT) to SOAR Testing and Evaluation Platform (SMC-PVT) that was incorporated with the Securities and Exchnge Commision of Pakistan (SECP) only after the advertisement’s deadline. Italso did not have its own National Tax Number.

The firm charged Rs6,000 from each of about 200,000 students, which previously was only Rs500 when conducted by the admitting provincial universities. Transparency International also took note of the issue at that time while the National Accountability Bureau sought details of the agreement.

In 2021, instead of a single MDCAT mandated under the Pakistan Medical Commission Act 2020 itself, the PMC conducted a 30-day MDCAT. Due to alleged mismanagement and controversial marks awarded to students, protests were staged by students in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

The PMC also gave a freehand to private medical college owners to charge fees of their choice ranging from Rs13.5 to Rs2.2 million per annum which they previously could not charge beyond Rs0.95 million under the regulations and policies of the PMDC.

The PMC also announced that it was not a regulatory body and universities were told to do inspections and ensure quality of education.

PMA hails decision

The representative body of doctors, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), hailed the decision and suggested to the government to nominate health experts as members of the PMC.

It expressed the hope that the government will address grievances of the medical fraternity.

PMA Secretary General Dr Qaiser Sajjad while talking to Dawn said it was a very positive and timely step.

“Now we demand that an elective body should be brought in the PMC so that issues of doctors and students would be addressed. I suggest that there should also be a representative of the PMA in the PMC,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2022