Zubair Qureshi
Ministry of National Health Services has decided to challenge the Islamabad High Court (IHC) order dated Feb 11, 2020 of restoring the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) and has given a go ahead to its team of legal experts to work on an appeal to be filed in the two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court.
A single bench of the IHC had on Tuesday set aside the presidential ordinance of October 2019 restoring the PMDC and all its sacked employees. Immediately after the court’s order Health Ministry sealed the building of Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC), terminated the services of its 250 employees hired after promulgation of the presidential ordinance and took the record into custody.
This is the second time in less than four months, when Ministry of Health Services has terminated services of the employees of the PMDC/PMC.
Last year too, after the PMDC dissolution the council’s building was sealed, record confiscated and 220 employees were sacked after promulgation of a presidential ordinance.
While talking to Pakistan Observer an official of the Ministry of NHS said it has been decided to file a civil petition for leave to appeal (CPLA) and hoped the court might grant a stay order against the IHC decision.
On October 19, 2019, President Dr Arif Alvi had promulgated ordinance dissolving the PMDC and paving the way for the establishment of the PMC.
On Oct 20, despite a Sunday, the NHS ministry sealed the building of the council and terminated the services of its 220 employees. 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.
A senior official of the ministry, requesting not to be quoted, said PMC had appointed 250 employees at hefty salaries despite the face they did not meet the requirements such as placing an advertisement.
When contacted, NHS senior official confirmed that the building had been sealed and record shifted to an adjacent building of the district population welfare department.
Meanwhile, 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.
