PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court recently directed the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC), federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to respond to petitions against the commission's formation and holding of the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) through a private firm.
Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Syed Arshad Ali fixed Oct 5 for the next hearing into two petitions filed by some students, who requested the court to declare the establishment of the unconstitutional PMC and against the spirit of the provincial autonomy provided in the Constitution.
The petitioners also sought the court's orders to declare the tests illegal conducted by PMC from Aug 30 to Sept 30 through a private firm, Testing and Evaluation Platform Services (TEPS).
One of the counsels for petitioners, Abbas Khan Sangeen, contended that the PMC Act was self-contradictory in its structures and composition. He said that there were three different bodies with the commission, including the Medical and Dental Council (MDC), the National Medical Authority (NMA) and the National Medical and Dental Academic Board (NMDAB).
He further added that each of these bodies had overlapping controls and functions, withholding the provinces from exercising their control over the medical and dental institutions.
