Forged and fake: PMDC officers accused of ‘deceiving’ MNAs

The council tried to pass off a fake notification as genuine.

LAHORE:

The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination has written to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) asking them to register a case against some officers, officials and beneficiaries of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) who, the ministry says, have used fake documentation to benefit them, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The application has been written to the FIA director general by Director Dr Baseer Khan Achakzai on behalf of the MNHSRC.

The application, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, was written on April 4. It states that Dr Achakzai has been directed to report a fraud case whereby those accused used a fake and forged document as genuine.

The application states that a (fake) gazette notification that appeared to have been published in the official gazette with the initials of PMDC registrar Dr Raja Amjad Mahmood, stated that Professor Masood Hameed had been elected president of the PMDC, Professor Syed Muhammad Awais the vice president, and Prof Ghulam Qadir Kazi, Prof Hafezullah, Dr Saadat Khan, Prof Abdus Salaam, Dr Khurshid Ahmad Nasim and Prof Azam Yousifani as members of the PMDC’s executive committee. The notification was issued by Dr Asim Hussain and submitted before the standing committee and its sub-committee in the National Assembly on January 28. The standing committee and sub-committee on the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination ordered verification of the authenticity of the notification from the Printing Corporation of Pakistan Press, Karachi.

The letter states that the Printing Corporation of Pakistan manager informed the National Assembly that the gazette notification had not been printed by them.

He also sent a copy of the original printed gazette notification.

The beneficiaries and PMDC officers and officials did not deny the fake gazette notification and vehemently defended it before the standing committee on February 13, the application states.

The Ministry of NHSRC shall register a case against the beneficiaries, the so-called office bearers, president, vice president, and members of the PMDC’s executive committee and other officials of the PMDC who tried passing off a fake gazette notification as a genuine one to cheat and wilfully deceive the parliament, the federal government and the public and for occupying offices illegally, the application states.

The application also mentions that PCP Headquarters also formed an enquiry committee to probe into the matter which concluded that the notification showed by PMDC officials was not proper and was not part of the official gazette notification printed by the Karachi Press on January 1 as per the record.

“The PMDC management and the beneficiaries by using this forged non genuine Gazette notification have wilfully and knowingly defrauded the public at large, the State, the Parliament, official functionaries, national and international organisations and institutions and occupied offices of PMDC, exercising powers without any legal authority. So a case may be kindly registered against the beneficiaries, Registrar, PMDC, PMDC and the Deputy Registrar and other officials involved in using non genuine document as genuine for the purpose of cheating and wilful deceit for their own benefit and must be processed against as per laws,” the application states.

“The case is in knowledge of all the high ups including the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and those involved in it will be brought to justice,” said a senior official at the ministry.

PMDC Dr Raja Amjad Mahmood refused to comment on the issue. “I don’t want to comment on this issue,” he said when contacted and told about the Ministry’s application to FIA for registering an FIR against the PMDC.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2014.