Govt desperate to get Senate committee’s approval for PMDC Ordinance 2019
Zubair Qureshi
After disapproval of the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) Ordinance by the Senate’s sub-committee of the Standing Committee of Health in its previous meeting dated August 9, 2019, the government has convened another meeting of the senate body for Monday (today) to revoke those observations and set aside the note of disapproval.
The Senate’s sub-committee had raised serious reservations over a number of violations by the current PMDC that is going to lapse on Sept 6, in dealing with the confidential database of ongoing inspections of medical and dental colleges, registration of the honrary degree of one member and other irregularities and had held there was no need to have new ordinance specially when an internationally recognized PMDC Ordinance 1962 existed.
However, ‘secret hands’ are in motion and an emergently called meeting is being held and according to sources it is most likely the PMDC Ordinance 2019 will be approved by the same body that has earlier rejected it.
Reliable sources at PM&DC have told Pakistan Observer that no rules were followed during the inspections conducted by PMDC. There are serious reservations over constitutional procedural gaps in ongoing inspections, they added.
The Council has also questioned the same, however two members are insistent to continue with the inspections which have now become the most controversial inspections in the history of the organization, the sources said.
The sources further revealed that poorly-trained personnel were sent on these inspections to achieve planned results and instead of architects, surveyors were sent and in place of medical educationists, pharmacists were sent to inspect the public and private sector medical and dental colleges.
During the 201st Council Session disclosure was made by one member that the confidential data of these inspections is being collected by a co-opted member, who happened to be his friend, at a local private hospital.
The hospital he said would analyze the data with the help of a scoring application made by the same hospital. The results will be compiled by the same team and will be shared with the rest of the Colleges.
This drew criticism not only by the council but media also took up and questions were also asked during the press conference of the PMDC President Dr Tariq Iqbal Bhutta on Saturday but his vice president Prof Dr Amir Zaman said everything was being dealt in accordance with the rules and laws.
The fate of the Ordinance itself hangs in balance, said the sources however, adding the way things are headed it is most likely that the Government might bring an interim setup to give legitimate cover to the illegitimate acts committed by Government’s own nominated members.
The Senate Standing Committee on Health meeting today is likely to decide the fate of the ordinance and the sources said the government is putting all pressure to pass the ordinance, which if passed would be have negative impact on the medical profession as all the international recognition of Pakistani doctors’ degrees etc would collapse . The sub-committee had also termed the PMDC Ordinance 2019 unconstitutional and fraud with the constitution as per Supreme Court’s decision, they held.
