ISLAMABAD: The proceedings of the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health Services (NHS) echoed in Senate on Friday.

Senator Karim Khawaja of the Pakistan Peoples Party criticised efforts to pass the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) bill during a joint parliamentary session. Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani responded to his concerns by saying he would look into the matter.

On Thursday, an official from the National Assembly Secretariat Legislative Branch on Thursday informed a meeting of the standing committee on NHS that the PMDC bill, which has been pending before the Senate for over three months, has to be sent to the joint session – the sentiment was echoed by members of the committee.

On Friday, Senator Khawaja said: “I want to remind the house that the [PMDC] bill was tabled in Senate, but Aitzaz Ahsan and other senators suggested that the bill should be sent to the Council of Common Interest (CCI).”

“Now, the bill is being sent to the joint session to pass it. I want a clear ruling by the Senate chairman on the issue,” he said.

Mr Rabbani said that some senators had opposed the bill when it was tabled. He said references by the minister of law were irrelevant, due to which the government had postponed voting.

“Now, 90 days have passed but the bill has not been tabled again. By sending the bill to the joint session, the Senate will be deprived of its right to pass it. The bill should be referred to the CCI,” he said. He added that he would look into the matter, and suggested that Mr Khawaja inform the house if the bill is tabled in the joint session.

The PMDC (Amendment) Bill 2015 was promulgated in August last year, an acting management committee was established which held elections and handed over the charge to elected body. The bill of the ordinance was passed by the National Assembly but could not sail through the Senate after senators Karim Khawaja and Aitzaz Ahsan suggested that the bill should be referred to the CCI on April 22, so voting could not be conducted. The ordinance lapsed on April 25.

A debate on the status of the council has followed. Those in favour argue that, since elections were held during the ordinance’s tenure, the elected council should continue working for the next four years. Those against, believe that the management has no right to work now that the ordinance has lapsed. Some legal experts have also suggested that the council should be run through an ad hoc setup.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2016

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