ISLAMABAD - Despite clear directions of Senate Sub-committee on Health for not holding the council meeting of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the regulatory body of medical colleges is going to meet on Monday to constitute new council.
The Senate Sub-committee on Health had written letters to the PMDC and the ministry of national health services, regulations & coordination not to hold the meeting on August 5 for the election of the PMDC executive committee and president as the same issue is under investigation of the sub-committee.
Besides, the matter is sub judice as many candidates have moved the Lahore High Court against the election of the council and the matter is still pending.
According to sources, the members have been sent the invitation and the PMDC is hell bent to hold the meeting as scheduled. If the newly elected members take oath and elect its new executive committee and president in the meeting, the private medical college lobby would be in a dominating position in the Council to manoeuvre the decisions in its favour.
In the meeting, there will be constitution of the new council and the oath-taking ceremony of the council members and then the Council will elect its executive committee and the president. The sources said the incumbent president Dr Asim Hussain, whose term is going to be expired with the dissolution of interim set-up, seeks to be the president of the next council for the next five years.
However, Dr Masood Hameed, PMDC Acting President, maintained that PMDC, being a statutory regulatory authority, has its own rules and regulations to comply with its policy matters as envisaged in the PMDC Act 2012 and as notified by the government of Pakistan.
Clarifying the council's stance on the recent developments, PMDC spokesperson Juma Muhammad Mandokhail also said, "We have called the PMDC meeting as per PMDC rules and criteria of elections and 7 days notice was issued in the executive committee meeting held on July 28 as mandated by the law."
He further said that the election process has been completed in a transparent manner and 90 per cent candidates have been elected by the medical fraternity after an extensive election campaign throughout the country. He further added that PMDC was bound through the act of parliament to hold the new Council meeting by August 12, 2013 according to 36-B of PMDC Act 2012.
Talking about the cases pending in different courts, the spokesperson added that the elections were free, fair and transparent, and forcing any bar over the meeting of the council would harm the smooth functioning of the highly reputed organisation.
The spokesperson also ascertained that the council meeting would be held as per the rules and regulations of PMDC on August 5 as per notification, adding that otherwise the whole medical structure would derail and the people in common and the medical fraternity in particular would be affected by any hindrance in the due process and this would give a chance to certain people to manipulate and cease the PMDC affairs.