ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday constituted an 11-member ad-hoc council headed by Justice (r) Ejaz Afzal Khan to run the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, passed the order on the request of the federal government.
Members of the council will include the attorney general of Pakistan, the surgeon general of Pakistan, vice-chancellor of National University of Medical Services, vice-chancellor of University of National Health Services, vice-chancellor of Sindh Jinnah Medical University, vice-chancellor Khyber Medical University, vice-chancellor of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University, vice-chancellor of Bolan Medical University and principal of de’Montmorency College of Dentistry.
The court also discarded a contempt of court application filed by the PMDC employees against the government for not following the Islamabad High Court verdict of Feb 11, in which the court had restored the PMDC and set aside the presidential ordinance that had created an alternative body called the Pakistan Medical Council (PMC).
The order states that the council shall meet as soon as possible and the AG’s office shall, with prior approval of the council’s president, intimate the date of its first meeting to all concerned. The council president shall also, in consultation with the council, appoint a registrar of the council.
“All existing record of PMDC shall be handed over to the authorized representative of health secretary,” the court said, adding that the secretary shall provide every assistance in convening and holding of meetings of the council.
“All functionaries of PMDC who may be in possession/custody of any record of PMDC shall also hand over all relevant records to the representatives of the concerned ministry or a person nominated by the chairman of the commission.”
