Important record, equipment missing from PMDC, IHC told

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) Tuesday submitted a report in Islamabad High Court (IHC) about the missing important record, laptops and hard discs.

The report was filed by the PMDC Registrar Hafeezuddin in connection with the ongoing case despite the restoration of the body. The report says the record of various departments was missing, including keys, three laptops, hard discs and WiFi device.

Moreover, it says five vehicles are also missing, while there are no keys of the parked ones. Similarly, the keys of five houses owned by the PMDC have not been handed over yet.

The document says the now-defunct Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) secretary and the Health Ministry were informed about the situation. However, no reply was given by the ministry. Similarly, Dr Arsalan Haider, Secretary of defunct PMC, refused to visit himself and asked to contact the Health Ministry.

According to the report, the PMDC since its restoration has issued 1,000 registration certificates, while 6,500 applications are still pending. The registrar in his report said that the PMDC had started working with a limited staff of 45 because of the coronavirus pandemic, adding that all the regional offices had been made functional in Karachi, Lahore and other cities.

It merits mention here that on March 30, the IHC ordered the restoration of PMDC, which was dissolved through a presidential ordinance in October last year. It also declared the formation of PMC illegal the body formed to replace the PMDC. However, the government since then has been using various tactics to delay the process, including an application submitted before the IHC with an argument that the appointment of PMDC Registrar Hafeez stands null and void.