Sindh Health Minister opposes Pakistan Medical Commission law

Sindh’s Health Minister has opposed the Pakistan Medical Commission law adding that it will affect human resources of the medical sector in small provinces.

Azra Fazal Pechuho in a statement said that the bill was passed in the parliament when most of the members were not present in the house.

The same bill was earlier struck down by the Senate of Pakistan with a majority vote, the health minister said.

The provincial minister termed the bill a violation of the 18th constitutional amendment.

The bill will damage the health sector human resources in small provinces, Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho said.

President Dr. Arif Alvi had signed the Pakistan Medical Commission Bill 2020 into law in September.

The bill is expected to help regulate the medical sector through the implementation of uniform standards to ensure the quality of training and educational qualifications in the field of medicine and dentistry.

Pakistan Medical Commission replaced the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council as a statutory body of the medical profession after the law comes into force.

Provided that such requirement shall be mandatory for all students who have enrolled in medical or dental undergraduate programs in the year 2021 and thereafter” MDCAT to be held in October 2020 is not covered under this legislation which is bypassed by this order of the federation. I strongly feel that PMDC was a good enough regulatory body that did not need to be dissolved. This newly formed commission will only serve to impinge on the rights of the people of the provinces and will undermine the human resource availability in the smaller provinces to the detriment of the health of the people of these provinces. I speak as a concerned citizen who views the hegemony of the federation with misgiving.

“My concern is not only for the people of Sindh but also Balochistan which will be worse off even then Sindh and KPK”, she concluded