ISLAMABAD: Since the completion of its constitutional bench with the selection of technical members in November 2025, the medical tribunal has decided/disposed of 20 appeals of various cases out of 46 pending cases instituted over a period of two years.

This was stated by member (technical) of the tribunal Dr Minhajus Siraj. “The tribunal is set to entertain 32 new appeals and complaints in the coming weeks,” he told Dawn.

Meanwhile, according to a decision available with Dawn, the tribunal decided an appeal filed by a private medical practitioner against disciplinary action taken by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council for his misrepresentation through the display of unverified professional qualifications.

In a detailed judgement authored by retired Justice Safdar Saleem Shahid, the chairman of the medical tribunal, it upheld the finding that the practitioner had engaged in misrepresentation by displaying higher professional degrees and qualifications on prescription pads and clinic promotional material which were not actually possessed by him.

In one case, tribunal upholds findings of misrepresentation and fake degrees by medical practitioner

The matter arose from a complaint lodged through the Prime Minister’s Citizen Portal on March 9, 2022, alleging that the practitioner had displayed fake academic credentials at his clinic. Upon receipt of the complaint, the then Pakistan Medical Commission initiated proceedings and issued a show-cause notice under Section 29 of the PMC Act, 2020, read with the Code of Ethics of Practice for Medical and Dental Practitioners, 2011.

After affording due opportunity of hearing, the disciplinary committee concluded that the charges stood established and imposed a penalty of Rs500,000 along with a warning to refrain from misrepresenting himself as a specialist in future.

The practitioner assailed the decision before the medical tribunal, contending that he possessed the qualifications reflected on his prescription pads and clinic publicity material. However, during the course of proceedings, the counsel for the appellant conceded that the higher professional qualifications so displayed were not actually possessed by his client.

Upon appraisal of the record and submissions of the parties, the tribunal unanimously held that the charge of misrepresentation stood proved. At the same time, the tribunal observed that no complaint of medical negligence or professional misconduct had been brought forward by any patient or member of the public, and that the proceedings had emanated solely from information received through the citizen complaint mechanism.

In view of these circumstances, while maintaining the finding of misconduct, the tribunal exercised judicial discretion to take a lenient view in the matter. The penalty was modified, and the fine was reduced from Rs500,000 to Rs300,000, payable to PMDC within 30 days of the announcement of the judgement.

The tribunal further directed the practitioner to rectify all forms of professional representation, including prescription pads, clinic flyers, online profiles and advertisements, ensuring that only those qualifications duly registered with PMDC and reflected on his license are displayed.

Defining the implementation mechanism for execution of the orders by the regulator PMDC, the medical tribunal directed the district office of Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHCC) to revisit the healthcare establishment in question, every six months and report any violations amounting to professional misconduct to the relevant regulatory authorities for appropriate action.

The tribunal added that truthful disclosure of professional credentials was a fundamental obligation of medical practitioners and was essential for safeguarding public trust and maintaining the integrity of the healthcare system.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2026