Islamabad: The Punjab government has formally requested the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to cancel the permanent practising licences of eight postgraduate doctors over allegations of misconduct, indiscipline, agitation and disruption of healthcare services in public sector teaching hospitals.
According to an official communication issued by the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department, Government of Punjab, the request was sent to the PMDC president and registrar, urging immediate disciplinary action against the concerned doctors.
The letter, dated April 10, 2026, termed the matter “most urgent” and called for convening a meeting of the PMDC disciplinary committee at the earliest.
The provincial health authorities stated that the issue was initially raised through a letter dated May 2, 2025, but no decision had been communicated despite the passage of nearly a year.
The department has now reiterated its request, seeking regulatory action against the doctors accused of disrupting healthcare services at major public hospitals.
The doctors named in the letter include specialists from leading tertiary care institutions. These include Dr. Sulaman Ghafoor and Dr. Nadeem Saqib of Nishtar Hospital, Multan; Dr. Ahmad Yar of Children’s Hospital Lahore; Dr. Fakhar Munir Sial and Dr. Muhammad Arif of Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi; and Dr. Muhammad Arsalan Raza, Dr. Kashif Saeed and Dr. Hamid Arshad Chattha of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Lahore.
Pakistan Medical and Dental Council officials confirmed that the matter was not new, saying it had been taken up by the Punjab health department almost a year ago but was not pursued further at that time.
“This is an old issue which was raised earlier by the Punjab government. It was not followed up then, and now the department has sent the letter again,” a PMDC official told vitalsnews.
The official added that the matter would be placed before the PMDC’s disciplinary committee, which is expected to meet within the next one to two weeks.
“Any decision will be taken strictly on the basis of evidence, documented records and statements of the concerned doctors,” the official said, emphasizing that due process would be followed before reaching a final verdict.
Medical experts and regulatory observers noted that cancellation of a permanent practising licence is one of the most severe penalties and cannot be imposed without proof of serious professional misconduct.
“Permanent licences cannot be cancelled merely on the basis of administrative differences, protests or disputes,” a senior medical education expert said. “However, if professional misconduct is established—especially if it compromises patient safety—it can lead to the revocation of a doctor’s licence.”
Experts further explained that the PMDC possesses a range of disciplinary measures short of cancellation. These include financial penalties, warnings, censures and suspension of licences for specified periods ranging from one to five years, depending on the severity of the violation.
Under the PMDC’s regulatory framework, disciplinary actions are determined after a thorough inquiry, ensuring that both patient safety and the rights of medical professionals are safeguarded.
The Punjab government has also shared copies of the communication with key stakeholders, including the minister for specialized healthcare and medical education, the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, vice chancellors of public sector medical universities and heads of concerned teaching hospitals.
The upcoming PMDC disciplinary committee meeting is expected to decide the fate of the case, which has drawn attention within the medical community and raised broader questions about governance, accountability and professional conduct in Pakistan’s public healthcare system.