Sindh rejects Pakistan Medical Commission Act 2020

KARACHI: Sindh government on Monday formally rejected Pakistan Medical Commission Act 2020, saying it was passed by the Parliament in joint session in a hurry without scrutiny and consensus of the provinces when all the opposition parties had boycotted the session.

In a letter Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Pechuho wrote to Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan on Monday, she said it goes against the interests of the candidates and the provincial government does not agree to policy of admissions in MBBS and BDS in medical universities and colleges of Sindh.

“After a detailed discussion with all Vice Chancellors of medical Universities and Colleges in Sindh, to review the policy for admission in MBBS and BDS for the session 2020 by PMC, it was unanimously decided that in the best interest of our candidates, the Sindh government will not agree with the amendments in the policy. The new policy by the federal government will cause lot of disturbance and suffering to the students.”

Dr. Azra Pechuho said the act passed by the Parliament without any consultation with provinces and in the absence of opposition would turn medical education into a commercial venture and would give private medical colleges and Universities authority to run their institutes without any oversight making medical education affordable to elite and moneyed class only. Sindh will continue with the old admission policy and said it was surprised that when the province completed its admission formalities in line with PM&DC Regulations, 2020 and was to hold test on October 18, surprisingly, the PMC Act-2020 was promulgated on 24th September, 2020 hindering the ongoing process.

She maintained that PMC which is yet to be functionalized properly has created unrest and chaos among the students resulting therein heavy pressure on us,” she added. Dr. Azra pointed out that Pakistan Medical Council Act, 2020 has raised many contradictions as it has no provincial representative whereas health is purely a devolved provincial subject after the 18th Amendment. Secondly, a formal notification of the council was issued but as per Section-4(3) of the Act autonomy and it will resist any move of the Federation to occupy the land of any province,” he said.

The PPP will oppose this ordinance at every relevant forum, including the National Assembly, Senate, and Sindh Assembly, he said. “We do consider this ordinance issued by the federal government as an attack on the 18th Constitutional Amendment as people will never tolerate such a move,” Senator Dhamrah said.

He hoped that apart from the PPP, all the other political parties and other relevant quarters working for the cause of democracy would never tolerate such an ordinance. He said that the PPP would forcefully resist such a move on the part of the federal government.

Dhamrah also criticized the statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan in which he termed the people from interior Sindh as an obstruction in the path of development of Karachi. He said that such a statement by the prime minister would promote ethnic divide in the country. “One should take cognizance as for whose pleasure the selected prime minister is attempting to princial Assembly, and the Senate.”

The Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has likened the recent move of the federal government to assume control of two islands off the Karachi’s coast for development to the illegal annexation of Occupied Kashmir by the Narendra Modi’s government in India last year.

The PPP chairman said that his party would oppose the move of the federal government in the National Assembly, Senate, and Sindh Assembly. The PPP chairman on Monday took to twitter and wrote: “The Pakistan People’s Party will oppose the illegal annexation of Sindh’s islands through presidential ordinance by the PTI’s government. I ask how is this act any different to Modi’s actions in occupied Kashmir? Move will be opposed in National, Provincial Assembly, and the Senate.”