ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: If Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) gets status of university, all private and federal government medical colleges located in the city will be affiliated with it.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday advised the federal government to consider upgrading the institute and naming it after former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The Pims deputy dean, Associate Professor Amjad Chaudhary, said the Federal Medical and Dental College, Yusra Medical College, Margalla Medical College, Shifa College of Medicine, and Islamabad Medical and Dental College would be affiliated with Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) after the approval of a bill.

Secretary CAD Riffat Shaheen Qazi said the current move would help Pims get a degree-awarding status as currently a number of health units were affiliated with Quaid-i-Azam University.

She told Dawn: “The president has approved a concept paper presented by the Pims management for establishing the medical university.”

She said after the setting up of SZABMU, the health facilities at Pims would also be upgraded.

The secretary said they had sent a summary to Ministry of Law and Justice for vetting to bring a bill into the parliament in this regard.

Once parliament approves the bill, it will fulfill the 18-year-long demand of the Pims administration, she added explaining the Pims management had placed a number of requests with the federal government but none of them was considered.

Mr Chaudhary said Pims would continue to provide tertiary health care whereas the Federal Government Services Hospital, National Institute of Rehabilitative Medicine including the Capital Development Authority Hospital would be secondary and primary health care providing units.

“A complete health policy is being devised for the federal capital which will highlight the role of the medical university,” associate professor Chaudhary said.