ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) was restored by Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday, the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) sealed the building of Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC), terminated the services of its 250 employees and took the record into custody.

It is the second similar episode in less than four months.

In October, the PMDC was dissolved, its building sealed, record confiscated and 220 employees were sacked after promulgation of a presidential ordinance.

The latest move was made after the IHC declared the presidential ordinance null and void, and the PMC lost its status.

However, the ministry of NHS decided to file a civil petition for leave to appeal (CPLA) hoping that the court may grant a stay order against the IHC decision.

On October 19, 2019, President Dr Arif Alvi promulgated an ordinance which left the PMDC dissolved and paved the way for the establishment of the PMC.

250 employees hired after promulgation of ordinance in October 2019 sacked, record seized

On Oct 20, despite being a Sunday, the ministry of NHS sealed the building of the council and terminated the services of its 220 employees.

The PMC consisted of three components - Medical and Dental Council, National Medical and Dental Academic Board and National Medical Authority, which had to act as a secretariat of the commission.

The sacked employees of PMDC not only held protests but also challenged the ordinance, especially its Section 49 under which they were sacked, in different courts across the country.

In December 2019, a division bench of Balochistan High Court (BHC), comprising Chief Justice Jamal Mandokhail and Justice Abdullah Baloch, had ordered to restore the employees. However, the ministry of NHS filed a CPLA in the Supreme Court.

On Feb 3, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, while hearing the case observed that PMC had derailed all its (apex court’s) efforts for streamlining issues related to private medical and dental colleges.

The court had earlier capped the fee of medical colleges but through the ordinance the colleges were not only allowed to charge fee of their choice but a number of checks on private colleges were also removed.

“It seems that the PMC has been established to provide benefit to private medical and dental colleges,” the apex court had observed.

However, as the court was informed that the IHC had already reserved its decision on the PMC ordinance, the apex court directed to let the high court decide the case.

A senior official of the ministry, requesting not to be quoted, said PMC had appointed 250 employees at hefty salaries without meeting the requirements such as placing an advertisement.

When contacted, NHS Secretary Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik confirmed to Dawn that the building had been sealed and record shifted to an adjacent building of the district population welfare department.

“As management of PMC has been dissolved, I will be controlling the PMDC. It will be made sure that public services such as issuance of certificates of good standing and provisional registration certificates would not suffer. However, other functions may be stopped,” he said.

“We have been considering filing a CPLA against the decision in the Supreme Court,” Dr Malik said.

A doctor requesting anonymity said thousands of doctors working abroad were suffering because PMC was not being acknowledged anywhere in the world.

Moreover, they were not being invited to training programmes, he said.

“We request the government not to file an appeal against the decision in the best interest of Pakistan and the medical profession,” he said.

PMDC Registrar retired Brigadier Hafizuddin Siddiqui told Dawn that he was worried about the 220 sacked employees as they were facing financial problems.

“As pensions were also stopped, a number of widows also suffered. We are thankful to the court, parliamentarians, political parties, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Young Doctors Association, and media for the support. I am currently in Karachi and will soon leave for Islamabad,” he said.

Replying a question, Mr Siddiqui said he and employees would not take the law in their hand and would approach the court if they were not allowed to resume duty.

PMA Secretary General Dr Qaisar Sajjad in a statement hailed the IHC decision.

“We believed that PMC had a lot of flaws and would be disastrous not only for doctors but medical education and healthcare in the country. PMA rejected this controversial ordinance right from the day it was promulgated. Now the association believes that an interim committee should be formed to run the affairs and hold elections in the PMDC within 100 days according to the PMDC ordinance 1962. The PMA always wanted an autonomous, democratic, transparent and independent PMDC having representation from all stakeholders without political interference,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2020