ISLAMABAD: The employees of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) on Monday staged a protest against the dissolution of the council and establishment of Pakistan Medical Commission.
The protest was arranged on a call of PMDC Employees Movement, which also arranged a sit-in in front of the Council’s headquarters to raise their voice against the decision of dissolving the body.
The speakers said that they would continue their protest till fulfilment of their demands and urged the government to reserve back its decision of dissolution of PMDC.
It is pertinent to mention here that the federal government had dissolved the existing body of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and established a new organization of Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) to regulate medical profession in the country.
According to an official of the Ministry of National Health Services, a new ordinance titled Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance 2019 had been signed in order to regulate and control of the medical profession by establishing a uniform minimum standard of medical education and training and recognition of qualifications in medicine and dentistry.
He added the current PMDC had to dissolve for implementation of the new ordinance and the government had directed the temporary shutting down of the offices of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.
This would ensure the protection of the essential records and assets of PMDC while the offices would remain closed for one week, he added.
He said that the PMC would be a body corporate consisting of the Medical and Dental Council, the National Medical and Dental Academic Board and the National Medical Authority, which would act as a Secretariat of the Commission.
The government had acted immediately to protect the extremely important records relating to licensing and registration of the all medical and dental practitioners in Pakistan as well as the records of medical and dental educational institutions in view of the approval of the new Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance.
The new Medical Commission is expected to start operations within a week. He regretted on the inconvenience caused to practitioners and made it clear that it was essential to protect the original records and assets of PMDC which was the priority and responsibility of the government.
In order to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to ongoing medical and dental admissions, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination would be taking necessary steps immediately for the supervision and overseeing of the admissions process to ensure it was properly completed, he added.
