ISLAMABAD: Eight members of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the body regulating medical institutions and professionals, were notified on Tuesday, making it functional.

The members were notified by the Ministry of National Health Services Regula­tions and Coordinat­ion (MNHSRC), after the approval of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to a notification available with Dawn.

The appointments have been made for four years on the recommendations of a search committee, the notification added.

Under the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Act, 2022, the PMDC will have 15 members. Eight of them are appointed at the prime minister’s discretion. Among them, five should be medical practitioners, one lawyer or an ex-high court judge, one philanthropist and one chartered accountant.

Health ministry notifies eight officials after PM’s nod

According to the notification, the five members nominated under the category of medical practitioners are Prof Amjad Siraj Memon, Prof Rizwan Taj, Muhammad Zubair Khan, Dr Mahmud Aurangzeb and Prof Dr Tehmina Asad. Jawad Amin Khan has been appointed in the category of philanthropist, while Chaudhry Sultan Mansoor and Noorul Haque have been appointed in the legal and chartered accountant categories, respectively.

The remaining seven commission members include the army’s surgeon general,MNHSRC secretary, health secretaries of the four provinces and one member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan.

With the new appointments, the 15-member council was complete and the members will hold a meeting to elect the president and vice president among them.

In a statement, Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel said the PMDC has been made functional and has the representation of all provinces and stakeholders.

MNHSRC Spokes­person Sajid Shah said the government decided to abolish

the Pakistan Medical Commission — established by the PTI government — and restore the PMDC after a large number of complaints.Earlier this year, PMC ceased to exist after PresidentArif Alvi assented to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Bill, 2022. The bill was passed by the parliament in December 2022.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2023