ISLAMABAD: The Young Doctors Association (YDA) has said all wings of the association unanimously “reject” the formation of the Pakistan Medical Commission and announced a March to Islamabad on October 14.
According to a statement, “The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) is an unconstitutional, undemocratic and illegal body.” The statement came after a meeting held via video link of all the provincial units of the association.
The meeting was attended by presidents and cabinet members of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad.
According to YDA, the formation of PMC is also “against international law”. “Licensing bodies around the world comprise stakeholders that are elected,” it stressed.
The doctors’ association said that with the “unorganized” implementation of the new law, “what would have been a bright future for millions of students across Pakistan has been darkened”.
An organized movement against the law was announced in all the provinces of Pakistan, including the pursuance of legal action. It also announced the formation of student committees at the medical college level.
Doctors from across Pakistan will march to Islamabad on October 14, said YDA, adding that after this, a “full-fledged movement” will be launched in all the major cities of the country.
The Pakistan Medical Association, representatives bodies of health professionals and other associations of medical professionals have already declared the bill passed by the parliament a violation of the Constitution.
The PMC Bill, which was signed into law by the president through an ordinance, was bulldozed by the PTI government during a joint session of the parliament on September 16. The Pakistan Medical Commission has thus replaced the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).
Maintaining that the step to abolish PMDC would cause deterioration in the standard of medical education and create problems for doctors serving abroad, health experts said that the apex court had already declared it null and void, but the incumbent government was taking arbitrary and anti-people decisions by using its marginal majority in the parliament.
