PMDC employees still unpaid, IHC told

Counsel says employees haven't been paid since the govt shut down council through an ordinance last October

ISLAMABAD: Even though the court had ordered to restore the apex regulator of doctors and medical education in the country, its employees told a court on Thursday that the government has not paid them for the time they could not attend offices owing to their forced closure.

This was disclosed as a two-member divisional bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), headed by Chief Justice Ather Minallah, heard on Thursday an appeal by the federal government against a verdict by the IHC regarding restoration of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).

During the hearing, the counsel for the defendants, Zainab Janjua, said that the employees of PMDC have not been paid ever since the government shut down council through an ordinance last October.

As a result, the employees have been compelled to borrow money to cover even their basic expenses.

At this, the Additional Attorney General (AAG) said that his wife was a UK-based Pakistani doctor who was facing problems due to the dissolution of the PMDC.

The court remarked that the government should dispose of the matter at the earliest and adjourned the hearing until March 24.

Meanwhile, despite court orders, offices of the PMDC in Karachi remain sealed. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2020.