LAHORE – The Lahore High Court (LHC) was informed on Friday that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has given approval for creating 198 new posts in the Punjab Health Department for regularisation of assistant professors and senior medical officers who were working on contract basis. Justice Umer Ata Bandial was hearing the petition of assistant professors and senior medical officers seeking their regularisation in the health department, which was filed through their counsel Dr Abdul Basit and Hafiz Farooq Nasim. A summary approved by the Punjab CM was submitted in the court on Friday by the health department’s counsel and the Punjab additional advocate general.
Reading out the summary, the health department’s counsel said that around 70 to 80 assistant professors and 90 senior medical officers, who could not be regularised in 2009, are now being regularised as the Punjab CM has given approval for the creation of 198 such posts. Around 79 cases of associate professors and professors (contract basis) were being sent to the Punjab Services Commission for regularisation in the health department, the summary added.
The report said that the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) will hold interviews of the doctors and new candidates will not be considered.
The health department has constituted a committee consisting of the secretary regulation and secretary services to decide individual seniority of more than 6,000 doctors who were regularized from 2009 to until now. For this purpose, guidelines have already been formulated, the report said. The health department’s counsel said that in the future, 50 percent quota of senior registrars will be fixed for their promotion as assistant professors. It will help prepare a service structure of teaching cadre in the health department.
The judge, while appreciating the steps taken by the Punjab government for solving the long-standing issue of regularisation of senior doctors on merit, remarked that now the clear point of view of the Punjab government has come before the court and if the petitioner has any objection on it, he should file a rejoinder on the next hearing.
Assistant professors’ counsel Dr Basit, after considering the report of the health department, said that it seems now that the issue of regularisation of doctors has almost been resolved. After hearing arguments, the judge adjourned the petition’s hearing until April 4.
