ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical Council has taken three former members of the PMDC at a time when the Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to start the hearing on a petition challenging the dissolution of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). The formation of the PMC faced severe criticism by the Senate and the media for dubious inspections of medical and dental colleges.
Muhammad Ali Raza, Dr Zafarullah Chaudhry (President CPSP), and Dr Aneesur Rehman (interim council member) are among the nine members who attended the first meeting of the new council.
The rest of the members include Ms Roshaneh Zafar, Tariq Ahmad Khan, Dr Rumina Hasan, Dr Asif Loya, Dr Arshad Taqi, and Lt Gen Dr Khawar Rehman (Surgeon General of Pakistan).
Additionally, according to the latest sources, former PMDC employees with tainted careers are being re-hired by the new council.
According to recent details, the new council has hired the services of some directors, assistant registrars, LDC, and other staff on new terms and conditions. However, hiring is only restricted to those who were warned earlier, given letters of displeasure, as well as suspended on charges of corruption and misconduct.
It is questionable why the council is only looking to re-hire those who were facing inquiries of misconduct and disciplinary action on one count or the other.
It is pertinent to mention here that the NAB has also initiated an inquiry into the hastily done inspections of 167 medical and dental colleges (public sector: 63 and private 104) in August this year. According to sources, some members of the previous council, in order to give these colleges a free hand, used their influence in dissolving the council and establishing a commission.
On October 21, President Dr Arif Alvi, with a stroke of a pen, rendered over 250 employees of the PMDC jobless promulgating an ordinance that was later hastily passed by the National Assembly.
Since its dissolution, employees of the PMDC, some of them with over 15 to 20 years of service experience, are on the roads staging a protest and wondering where they will get a new job at this mature age.
A former employee who is a part of the PM&DC protest camp since day one said she served the council for 15 years, and her status changed from employee to 'ex-employee' with a single stroke of a pen by the honorable President of Pakistan.
According to the new Ordinance, we can be hired only according to the new terms and conditions, which means we shall be working on a contractual basis without any job security, she said. The new commission offers all ex-employees a six-month basic salary without any further benefits.
Article 49 (3) of the PMC Ordinance says, “Provided that all employees and officers of the dissolved PM&DC serving in special pay scale 1 to 4 shall be offered an available position in the Commission on priority subject to fulfillment of minimum criteria for such position and their acceptance of the terms and conditions of employment approved by the Council for employees of the Commission.” -PR