Court allows overseas Pakistani doctor to sit in PMC exam

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has allowed a petition by an overseas Pakistani doctor directing the Inter-Board Committee of Chairman (IBCC) to issue him an equivalence certificate so that he could sit the upcoming national licensing board examination by Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC).

Petitioner Hamza Khan completed his MBBS qualification in 2015 from a university in United Arab Emirates namely RAK Medical & Health Sciences University. After returning to Pakistan, he submitted a form before the PMDC, now defunct, in order to appear in the examination of National Examination Board (NEB) to secure a medical practicing license. Petitioner’s counsel Sheraz Zaka argued that the council refused to entertain the form and categorically stated that the petitioner needed an equivalence certificate from the IBCC.

He said the petitioner subsequently applied for the IBCC certificate of his high school diploma, which he also attained from a school in the UAE. However, he said the IBCC also refused to recognise the petitioner’s diploma qualification.

The counsel stated that the petitioner’s high school diploma was recognised by the equivalence board of the UAE known as “Knowledge & Human Development Authority”, yet the IBCC refused to issue an equivalence certificate.

The IBCC’s counsel told the court that the board recently decided to grant equivalence certificates to foreign qualified students and facilitate overseas Pakistanis. Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza allowed the petition and directed the IBCC to grant an equivalence certificate to the petitioner and also directed the PMC to allow the petitioner to sit its forthcoming licensing board exam.