ISLAMABAD: A presidential ordinance, dissolving the Pakistan Medical & Dental (PMDC), which was earlier disapproved by the Senate seven weeks back and was also withdrawn by the government, has been promulgated again, causing a stir. The opposition including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which had rejected the previous ordinance in the Senate, has again spoken against the new law with equal vehemence. It is unlikely to extend a dissimilar treatment to the ordinance in the Senate.
When contacted, Media Coordinator of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination Sajid Hussain Shah told The News that the present ordinance was somewhat different from the previous one. He did not elaborate. He said that the ordinance was needed to liberalise the medical education. He said the purpose of immediate takeover of the PMDC building, shutting the office for a week, was to protect the record.
The coordinator was asked to connect this correspondent to Dr Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination, but it did not happen.
Some days before the August 30 disapproval of the earlier ordinance by the Upper House of Parliament, the Senate committee on health services had turned it down, calling for its rejection by the Senate.
PPP Senator Sherry Rehman had tabled the disapproving motion in the Senate, which was supported by the opposition parties. It was rejected by a majority vote. But the government also withdrew the ordinance, which had been issued on January 5. An ordinance stands annulled immediately after a disapproving resolution is passed by either parliamentary chamber under the rules of business.
The new ordinance paves the way for establishment of a Pakistan Medial Commission (PMC), which will be run by a nine-member body and its head would be called president. The Ministry of National Health Services took over the possession of the PMDC building and directed its 220 employees that the office will remain shut for one week.
The Pakistan Medical Association has termed the ordinance undemocratic and appealed to political parties to reject it. It has officially stated that the new ordinance will usher in a new era, beginning with reference to regulation and control of the medical profession by establishing uniform minimum standard of medical education and training and recognition of qualifications in medicine and dentistry. It said that the implementation of the ordinance requires dissolution of current PMDC, and added that the government directed the temporary closing down of the offices of PMDC to ensure protection of the essential records and assets.
The PMC will be a body corporate consisting of the PMDC; the National Medical and Dental Academic Board; and the National Medical Authority.
According to the statement, the government acted immediately to protect the extremely important records relating to licensing and registration of all medical and dental practitioners and institutions. The new PMC is expected to start operations within a week. Under the disapproved/withdrawn ordinance, the prime minister was to establish a PMDC comprising three members of the civil society to be nominated by him from amongst nationally recognised philanthropists, professionals or persons of known repute; four members being one faculty member from the clinical faculty of a public medical college or university from each province; four members being one faculty member from the basic science faculty of public medical college or university from each province; two members being the members of the clinical faculty selected by the prime minister from private medical colleges; two members being one faculty member from the clinical faculty of the private medical colleges; two members being one faculty from clinical faculty of a public dental college or medical and dental university from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on a rotational basis, and one from the Sindh and Balochistan on a rotational basis nominated by the provincial government of the respective combined provinces; one member being the nominee of the president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan not below a councilor and one member being a nominee of the Surgeon General of the armed forces medical service.