Court declares PMC appointments illegal

The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday declared the appointments of all members of the Pakistan Medical Council (PMC) illegal and ordered their removal from their posts with immediate effect.

The court in its verdict noted that the decisions and orders passed by the members including the PMC president and vice president would be deemed illegal from September 25, 2020 till date until the members of the new council approve them at their next meeting to review and look into the reasons behind them.

The court has told the federal government to conduct the affairs of the PMC on a daily basis under the ministry concerned until the appointment of the new members.

The federal government has also been ordered to appoint the new PMC members including its president and vice president within three months.

The PMC members whose appointments have been declared illegal by the court include its president Dr Arshad Taqi; vice president Muhammad Ali Raza; and members Rashana Zafar, Tariq Ahmad Khan, Dr Rubina Hassan, Dr Asif Loya and Dr Anis-ur-Rehman.

The court upheld the Pakistan Medical Commission Act 2020 in accordance with the Constitution.

It observed that the law did not violate the fundamental rights of the petitioners and Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) employees.

IHC’s Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani announced the court’s reserved detailed verdict on the appointment of PMC members as well as various petitions filed by former employees.

Also read: Healthcare in shambles

The court ruled that PMDC employees who had received their pensions could not be withdrawn.

It also noted that former PMDC employees who had not received their pensions were no longer eligible for it.

The court upheld the policy of the PMDC golden handshake.

It observed that the golden handshake was a federal government policy decision that did not affect the rights of the petitioners.

The court added that PMC or PMDC employees had no legal right to continue working until their retirement.

The court judgment further read that all the PMC members including the president and vice president were not appointed in a transparent manner and merit was ignored.

“Legal procedure was not used in the selection,” it added.

The IHC also ruled that the Appointment Council and Board Members Appointment Rules Rule 8 of 2021 under which members enjoyed protection was also illegal.

The court wrote in its judgment that Rule 8 was in violation of the Constitution and norms of transparency because it was “person-specific”.