June 22, 2005	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 14, 1426

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RAWALPINDI, June 21: An attempt by the Ministry of Health to amend the law governing the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has ran into difficulties with the law division of the government, Dawn learnt on Tuesday. Sources in the division said that the Law, Justice and Human Rights Division returned a draft law sent by the ministry for vetting with the advice that rather than introducing a new law the ministry should propose amendments in the existing law.

A letter from Drafting and Legislation Section of the Division (No. F.1671/2005-/D&L) read: “The referring ministry (Ministry of Health) has prepared a new law on the subject whereas a law on the subject titled Medical and Dental Council Ordinance 1962 is already existing.”

A health ministry official speaking to Dawn on condition of anonymity, however, insisted that the draft sent by the ministry to the law division had sought amendments and not a new law.

“We had in fact proposed certain amendments, but they (law division) interpreted it as a new law and asked us to propose amendments in the existing law, which we are now doing,” the official said.

But he declined to divulge the ministry had proposed or intended to propose.

It is generally believed that the changes sought by the ministry in the law were aimed at strengthening its control over PMDC, the medical profession’s regulatory body. Of late, the ministry and the PMDC had been at loggerheads with the latter trying to retain its independent status and keep itself free of the influence of the ministry.

Asked about the prevailing notion that the health ministry was seeking to tighten its control over PMDC, the official said, “law cannot be discriminatory, person-specific, unilateral or biased”.

However, he conceded that the new amendments, or law as the law division calls it, proposed to change the composition of the PMDC council. He hinted at securing representation for private medical institutions at the council through the legislative changes.

Besides, there were few things in the proposed amendments about the standard of the medical colleges for recognition, he said. “We are also contemplating to provide for closing down sub-standard institutions, which is the biggest lacuna in the existing law.”

Earlier the ministry had termed this lacuna as the basis of perpetuation of exploitation of medical students.

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