ISLAMABAD: After failing to get the controversial Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) Ordinance, 2019, approved by the parliament within the required time-limit, the government has decided to seek its extension for another 120 days from the National Assembly.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Swati is set to move on Monday a resolution in the assembly seeking to extend the PMC Ordinance 2019 for a further period of 120 days with effect from February 16, shows the agenda issued by the NA Secretariat on Sunday.

Through another similar resolution, Mr Swati will also seek 120-day extension to the Medical Tribunal Ordinance, 2019, when the assembly will go into session after a two-day recess.

President Dr Arif Alvi had promulgated the two ordinances on October 19 last year. The PMC Ordinance had left the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) dissolved.

The PMC is a body consisting of three components i.e. the PMDC, the National Medical and Dental Academic Board and the National Medical Authority and it has been established to deal with the issues related to medical education and doctors.

A day after promulgation of the ordinances, despite Sunday, the Ministry of National Health Sciences had sealed the building of the PMDC and it was informed that the service of 220 employees of the council had been terminated.

The sacked employees have been protesting since then and almost all the major opposition parties have extended their support to them.

The provincial assembly of Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly have already passed resolutions against the presidential ordinances.

The PMC Ordinance is among those 11 presidential ordinances, which the government got passed in the form of bills from the National Assembly in a controversial manner and within half an hour amid ruckus by opposition members on November 7.

The move came after Prime Minister Imran Khan held a meeting of the parliamentary committee of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in Parliament House, directing the party legislators to get all the bills passed, especially the PMC ordinance. The prime minister remained in his chamber in Parliament House till the session of the lower house was adjourned.

Interestingly, Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri got the 11 ordinances passed in such haste that no time was given to legislators to hold a proper debate on them. He turned a deaf ear to the members belonging to all main opposition parties and others, who tore up copies of the bills, threw them towards the deputy speaker and converged on the speaker’s dais.

The opposition rejected passage of the ordinances and termed it “unconstitutional” and vowed to bring a no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker.

Later, however, after negotiations with the opposition, the government agreed to withdraw all the approved bills and present them again in the house as per the normal procedure. In response, the opposition agreed not to move the no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly in its sitting on Monday is also set to take a calling attention notice of the PTI members “regarding shortage/non-recruitment of staff in power companies”.

Another calling attention notice moved by the PML-N members “regarding rescinding all inclusive tariff of US cents 7.5 per unit and imposing taxes/surcharges to extent of over 50 per cent of tariff retrospectively from January 2019 on exporters” is also on the agenda of the assembly’s sitting.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2020