ISLAMABAD: The special judge central, Malik Nazir Ahmed, has handed over the former registrar of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on a four-day physical remand.

The defence lawyer, however, informed the court that the PMDC had restored the accused as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) on Thursday (the date when he was arrested).

On October 26, the Supreme Court took suo motu notice of a complaint lodged by a citizen that a doctor of a private hospital in federal capital prescribed unregistered tranquilizers and psychiatric drugs to a patient, Nadeem Akhtar. Inquiry revealed that the former registrar of the council had issued certificates to the doctor and the FIA arrested him on Thursday. However, the hospital head and the doctor could not be arrested.

On Friday, during hearing the counsel for the accused, Advocate Hafiz Arafat Ahmed, showed a letter of the PMDC to the court which restored him as OSD and claimed that there were some elements in the council who were against the accused and were harassing him.

He said that the accused had just issued a certificate and the complainant should take legal action against the doctor instead of the former registrar.

The court remarked that it was strange that the official was restored on the same date on which he was arrested.

Moreover, the ex-registrar’s lawyer requested the court to direct the FIA to return his (the accused) laptop and two cell phones as there were family pictures in them. However, the FIA official claimed that he needed them for forensic analysis.

The cousel for the complainant Nadeem Akhtar, Advocate Sardar Naseer Ahmed Saghir, while talking to Dawn said the court had not directed the FIA to return cellphones and laptop.

Dr Lehri, while talking to Dawn, said it was just a coincidence that the former registrar was restored on the same date when he was arrested.

“The fact is that he (the accused) was dismissed in 2013, but was restored through a court order the same year. But he was dismissed again on the very next day of his restoration.

“Recently, the ministry of NHS and a parliamentary standing committee recommended his reinstatement,” he said.

Even then the PMDC referred the matter to a inquiry committee headed by retired Gen Abdul Khaliq Naveed which recommended to restore the accused as OSD instead of the PMDC registrar.

“After receiving the committee’s advice we issued a notification reinstating him as OSD on Thursday,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2016