The Chairman of the Committee apparently came round to the majority opinion, allowing the crucial legislation to pass.
By Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: A Senate Standing Committee (SSC) Tuesday put is seal on two crucial pieces of legislation, paving the way for the medical profession to be put an even keel once more.
The SSC on National Health approved the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (Amendment0 Bill, 2022; and the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Bill, 2022 by majority vote after its chairman came round to the majority opinion against his personal wishes in the true democratic tradition.
Already approved by the National Assembly, the two bills will now be put to vote in the Senate. If approved, each will gain the force of law within ten days or upon signature by the President.
When the PMDC Bill becomes law, the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) chartered by the government of former Prime Minister Imran Khan will stand abolished and the PMDC will regain its mandate.
The services of the PMC functionaries, hired at hefty salaries, will stand automatically terminated. The entry test for admissions in medical and dental colleges would then be held at the provincial level.
The meeting of the committee was held in the Parliament House under the chairmanship of the committee chairman, Senator Dr Muhammad Humayun Muhammad.
It seems the move came after the chairman and members reached an understanding over the matter, as part of which the chairman agreed to run the committee according to the democratic principles and the members agreed to drop their threat of a vote of no confidence.
The members of the committee discussed at length the significance of the bills during the debate on the two bills.
The committee chairman said that he have to listened to the demands of MTI and PIMs employees, adding that all the demands of the employees were heard and accepted.
Senator Rubina Khalid said that her Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) party had expressed concerns about this system before.
Senator Bahramand Tangi said that if one group of PIMS is called, then it seems fine, and if the other is called it also seems fine, but we have to look at the institution, not groups.
Senator Fauzia said that the performance of one year should be seen and then a decision should be taken.
Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel said that the government was dealing with one strike or another on a daily basis. Arguing that the hospital was a delicate place, he said the government could not experiments here.
Patel also expressed his outrage over the previous government’s push to generate revenue in the government hospital.
The chairman said that the bidding for the purchase of MRI in PIMS was wrong from the beginning. It was said that it would take place in December and it had nothing to do with MTI.
After a long discussion, the Committee approved Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Bill, 2022 by a majority vote.
In addition to the Federal Minister of Health and the officials of the Ministry of Health, the members of the committee participated in the committee meeting.
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