Islamabad High Court. PHOTO COURTESY: IHC WEBSITE
This was directed by a single-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, who heard a contempt plea filed by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) Registrar Brig (retired) Dr Hafeezuddin Ahmed Siddiqui.
The court ordered the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Secretary Dr Tauqeer Ahmad Qureshi, health department’s section officer, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hamza Shafqaat and the Ramna police station SHO to appear before the court on Tuesday (today).
On March 30, the IHC had ordered the federal government to immediately restore the PMDC and pay its employees. It disposed of the case after the government allowed the registrar to sit in his office at PMDC building and assured the court that the council will continue its operations unhindered.
However, Brig Dr Siddiqui contended in his plea, filed through Barrister Zafarullah Khan, said that the government later brushed aside court orders to restore the council and directed him to vacate his office. His reminders to officials of the health ministry that they were committing court orders seemed to have no impact. The petitioner pleaded the court to sentence the respondents to serve six months in jail for flouting the court’s orders.
Govt files petition
Meanwhile, the court also sought a reply from the PMDC’s registrar on a petition filed against his deployment by the federal government.
The government had challenged the deployment of Brig Dr Siddiqui, declaring his continued appointment as the registrar of PMDC as illegal.
They claimed that the ordinance under which Dr Siddiqui had been appointed has expired, and as such his appointment was automatically revoked.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th, 2020.
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