Zubair Qureshi
Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has decided to challenge the decision of Balochistan High Court (BHC) regarding reinstatement of the sacked employees of the dissolved Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and in this regard legal opinion has been sought from the attorney general of Pakistan and the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) for legal opinion.
The employees of the dissolved council on the other hand have decided to move a contempt of court petition against the PMC.
On Friday they were turned away by the PMC management and now they have decided to resort to legal course.
The PMDC was dissolved by the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) Ordinance promulgated by President Dr Arif Alvi on Oct 19. Its building was sealed the next day and the NHS ministry announced that the services of all 220 employees were terminated.
The employees filed a petition in BHC against their termination and division bench, comprising Chief Justice Jamal Mandokhail and Justice Abdullah Baloch, suspended Section 49 of the PMC ordinance under which the employees had been sacked. The court directed that salaries should be paid to all the employees regularly.
PMC officials say Balochistan High Court decision has been sent to attorney general and NHS ministry for clarification
According to PMC Vice President Ali Raza the court decision suspends implementation of Section 49, not the provision of the law.
This means that the section would not be implemented anymore. There are three sub-sections of Section 49 and according to the first salaries of six months have to be paid to the employees.
We paid the salaries one month after the promulgation of the ordinance the second sub-section states that a letter should be sent to the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) to calculate the dues and according to sub-section three, employees from Basic Pay Scale (BPS) I to IV will be given priority for reappointment, he said.
However, because of the decision now not only dues suggested by AGPR will not be cleared but also priority would not be given to the former employees for reappointment, he added.
We have sent the decision to the attorney general of Pakistan and the Ministry of NHS to get legal opinion and a clarification and we believe that they were employees of the dissolved PMDC so they should report to the ministry of NHS as PMC is a totally different entity and has nothing to do with them,” said Mr Raza. When contacted, NHS Ministry confirmed that the decision of the BHC had been received.
An aggrieved affectee and former employee of the dissolved PMDC said she couldn’t imagine PMC would defy even a high court’s order. This shows the typical bureaucratic mindset that doesn’t allow workers and employees to get any benefit without their consent. We shall hire a lawyer and move a contempt of court petition in the BHC against the hon’ble court’s decision by the PMC, she further said.
