A sub-committee of Upper House had earlier rejected the same citing certain ‘violations’
Zubair Qureshi
Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services & Regulation on Monday approved the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council Ordinance 2019 in a stormy session held in-camera.
Senator Mian Muhammad Attique Sheikh was chaired the meeting and as everyone expected and Pakistan Observer had also indicate one day before the meeting that the federal government was desperate to get a go-ahead for the new ordinance and the same sailed through the Senate’s Standing Committee meeting though with a lot resistance.
In order to ensure the PMDC Ordinance 2019 passage from the Senates standing committee, Leader of the House in Senate Shibli Faraz had specially come to supervise the proceedings of the meeting.
Despite intense lobbying by the government members of the Senate at the outset of the meeting spoke against the bill terming it against the interests of the PMDC itself and those hundreds of doctors who were working overseas. At one point of the meeting, owing to some members’ vocal opposition the chair decided to hold the meeting in-camera though media persons present in the meeting objected to it. It may be mentioned here that earlier on August 9, 2019 Senate’s sub-committee of the Standing Committee of Health had rejected the ordinance terming it unnecessary in the presence of the PMDC Ordinance 1962.
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, for instance in its handling the confidential database of ongoing inspections of medical and dental colleges, registration of the honrary degree of one member and other irregularities. The committee had held there was no need to have new ordinance specially when an internationally recognized PMDC Ordinance 1962 existed.
According to a press release issued after the meeting of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Health, the members keeping in view the sub-committee’s observations in its last meeting, approved the PMDC Ordinance 2019 with amendment.
While talking to Pakistan Observer, Dr Ashok Kumar who had presided over the senate’s sub committee’s meeting expressed his disappointment after Monday’s meeting. “You see we had turned it down but today, it was approved with amendments,” he said.
PMDC President Dr Tariq Bhutta while talking to Pakistan Observer said a few amendments have been included in the PMDC Ordinance and they are more or less of symbolic in nature. Number of the council’s members will raise according to those amendments and some procedural changes would be made. Dr Bhutta said concerns of the senators will be addressed by the council in due time, he said.
