Islamabad: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has strongly condemned reports of a move by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to amend the rules for appointing a registrar, calling it yet another attempt to undermine transparency in the country’s top regulatory body for doctors and dentists.
In a statement on Wednesday, the association warned that such “backdoor amendments” would further erode trust in the PMDC, which has long been plagued by controversy and mismanagement.
The PMA maintains that the current PMDC administration itself was illegitimately appointed and therefore has no authority to make significant policy changes. According to the association, any amendment under the present setup is not only questionable but also invalid, raising serious concerns about governance in an institution tasked with safeguarding medical education and professional standards.
In a strongly worded statement, the PMA said the decision smacks of a lack of transparency and disregard for democratic processes. “The PMDC regulates the entire medical and dental profession in Pakistan. Any change in its rules must be made in a fair, transparent, and representative manner. Instead, what we are witnessing is a unilateral exercise of power that undermines the integrity of the council,” the association said.
This latest row is part of a broader crisis that has dogged the PMDC for years. The council has repeatedly functioned without a permanent registrar, relying on acting officials for extended periods. Such ad-hoc arrangements have left it vulnerable to political influence and power struggles, weakening its ability to function as an independent regulator.
The PMDC has also drawn widespread criticism for controversial decisions, including its move to restrict the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) to candidates’ home provinces and a one-time reduction in eligibility criteria, both of which the PMA opposed. The association has argued that such policies compromise the merit-based system and damage the future of medical students.
The PMA’s conflict with the council and its predecessor, the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC), is not new. It has consistently rejected what it calls the government’s “top-down” approach to controlling medical regulation. The association earlier opposed a presidential ordinance that allowed the government to nominate members of the PMDC, instead demanding an elected body truly representative of the medical community.
PMA leaders said the latest developments only reinforce their fears that the PMDC is continuing down a non-democratic path. They warned that decisions made by what they consider an illegitimate administration will harm medical education, lower professional standards, and weaken public confidence in healthcare regulation.
PMDC officials, however, denied any wrongdoing, saying they were instead trying to undo the wrongs done in the past, when advertisements for the registrar’s post were “tailor-made” to suit specific individuals. They said those flawed advertisements resulted in very few applicants, none of whom were selected by the current administration.
PMDC officials added that the registrar would now be appointed purely on merit and stressed that no one from PMDC’s permanent employees was expected to apply, as nobody would sacrifice a secure permanent job for a contractual post.
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