KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet has decided to create Sindh Medical Commission (SMC) in line with the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) to regulate private medical institutions, including their fee structure, in the province, demanding enrolment of 95 per cent students of the province in the medical institutions.

The cabinet meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah here at the CM House. It was attended by all the provincial ministers, advisers, chief secretary and secretaries concerned.

The health department told the cabinet that the PMC was created by the federal government in September 2020 to provide for regulation and control of medical professionals and to establish a uniform minimum standard for basic and higher medical training and recognition of qualifications in medicine and dentistry.

It was observed that the introduction of the PMC invited serious reservations during the conduct of tests and the students badly suffered due to the huge number of discrepancies found in the Medical and Dental College Admission Test held on Nov 29.

It was said that some 30 questions were out of syllabus and the result of 127,000 candidates uploaded on the PMC website was full of anomalies and discrepancies. The total candidates that appeared from Sindh were 25,252; of them 8,287, or 32 per cent, were declared qualified which created a sense of disappointment in the candidates and their parents.

Rejects the census and decides to take up the issue with the centre

The cabinet was informed that the Sindh Medical and Dental Council Bill (SMDC) was drafted and placed for approval previously. Subsequently, the PMC Act 2020 was passed by the National Assembly, therefore, the SMDC bill could not be introduced in the provincial assembly for enactment. The cabinet, after thorough discussion and deliberation, decided to create the SMC in consonance with the PMC.

It also approved that admission to private medical institutions may be allowed to only those candidates who were domiciled in Sindh, or 95pc seats may be reserved for the candidates of the province and five per cent may also be allocated on a reciprocal basis with private institutions of other provinces.

The cabinet also decided that the fee structure of the private medical institutions of Sindh be determined in consultation with the provincial government.

The cabinet directed the health department to write a letter to the PMC and inform it about the decisions of the provincial cabinet.

Census approval

The provincial cabinet was informed that the federal cabinet had approved Census 2017 despite serious reservations already tabled in the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

The provincial cabinet observed that the census subject belonged to the CCI and the federal cabinet was not competent to approve it.

The provincial cabinet rejected the census and decided to take up the issue with the federal government.

Capt Safdar’s arrest

The provincial ministerial committee constituted against the arrest of retired Captain Safdar, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader, was presented before the cabinet.

The report accused some federal ministers and local MPAs of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf of pressuring the police for registering a case against Capt Safdar allegedly for raising slogans on the premises of Mazar-i-Quaid.

The report said that the hooliganism within the mausoleum, whatsoever, was a magistrate cognizance case and it had nothing to do with the police, but the police were pressured by the federal government (some ministers) and local PTI MPAs.

Finally, on the fake complaint of an `accused’ person, who was not present in the mausoleum, a police case was registered against Capt Safdar. The arrest of Safdar on Oct 19 was made in violation of the sanctity of`chador and chardiwari’, which was also an illegal act.

The report also said what had happened with the inspector general of police had already been settled with the action taken by the chief of army staff.

The cabinet decided not to make the ministerial committee report public. However, it was decided that the federal government would be told about the interference of its ministers and [PTI] MPAs in police affairs in Sindh.

The federal government would be urged to take action against its members involved in the affair.

Four-tier formula

The cabinet’s subcommittee headed by CM’s Adviser Murtaza Wahab submitted its report on a four-tier formula.

The report says that the committee and representatives of the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association discouraged the time-scale formula and agreed on revisiting the four-tier formula and the formula may be revised in line with the proposed options. The proposal for the creation of the post of BS-21 in the college education department was considered by the committee with the consultation of SPLA and all agreed that it should be shelved.

The cabinet approved a four-tier formula under which promotion posts would be allocated separately.

PCR kits

The health department told the cabinet that it was in need of 300,000 PCR kits for which the cabinet approved release of Rs30 million for the immediate purchase and simultaneously requested the federal government to provide PCR kits.

Posting of nurses

The cabinet was informed that the health department through the Sindh Public Service Commission selected 958 staff nurses (male and female) in BS-16 but appointment formalities would take three months more to issue them offer letters.

It was informed that services of staff nurses were badly needed during the ongoing Covid-19 emergency.

The cabinet approved the appointment and posting of newly SPSC-selected nurses immediately and directed the health department to complete their other required facilities within the next three months.

Jacobabad cantonment

The cabinet was told that the local government department had been asked to declare PAF Shahbaz Airbase and adjoining areas as a cantonment.

The cabinet after a brief discussion constituted a committee to inquire into the matter and report to the cabinet about its recommendations.

The cabinet also approved rules of the Sindh Coal Authority and some other departments.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2020