Islamabad: Expressing serious concerns over the presence of individuals with a clear ‘conflict of interest’ in health regulatory authorities, a sub-committee of the National Assembly on health on Friday recommended that people owning or running private healthcare facilities or medical education institutions should not be members of the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) Board.
“It is unfortunate that the chairman of the IHRA Board is a person who runs a health facility in Islamabad while also serving as the general secretary of the private medical colleges’ association. Some other board members also own clinics in the capital — this is a clear case of conflict of interest,” remarked Dr. Amjad Ali Khan, Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Health.
Committee members expressed dismay that IHRA, in its written response, not only failed to acknowledge the conflict but also defended the board’s composition, claiming the IHRA Act was silent on the issue. However, the committee read out existing rules which clearly state that individuals with conflicts of interest must not vote—implying that such individuals should not participate in decision-making or policy formulation.
The committee’s frustration also extended to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), whose officials repeatedly refused to share the names or details of private hospitals enjoying tax exemptions. Despite being asked multiple times by the committee chair, the FBR cited Section 216 of the Income Tax Ordinance to justify its silence, arguing that it could not disclose taxpayer information—even to Parliament.
MNA Dr. Zahra Wadood Fatimi questioned why charitable hospitals were being taxed while commercial entities disguised as non-profits were enjoying exemptions.
“Even when someone is dying, private hospitals demand advance payments,” she said. “I once raised the case of a minor girl referred from a private hospital to a government facility. She died. That hospital refused care because the family couldn’t pay.”
She accused Shifa International Hospital of keeping a deceased patient’s body for seven days and charging Rs. 100,000 per day, calling it a blatant case of commercial exploitation.
Dr. Fatimi also demanded that the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP)—a body supposedly meant to vet charities for tax exemption—be shut down, saying it had failed to protect genuine charitable institutions.
At one point, IHRA officials stunned the committee by admitting that only one meeting of its Registration Board had taken place since the authority was formed, and that no inspection committee had yet been notified. “Without an inspection mechanism, how can registration and oversight of hospitals and clinics be justified?” asked the committee chair.
MNA Dr. Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro said there was no record of how many hospitals and clinics are registered in Islamabad. She also pointed out the absence of a solid medical waste management system and demanded data on how many companies were licensed to handle hazardous waste—information IHRA officials could not provide.
Former IHRA CEO Dr. Quaid Saeed told the committee that the authority was based on healthcare regulatory frameworks in other countries, including the UK, and claimed that 166 forms of regulation were in place globally. However, he admitted that the federal health ministry had yet to notify minimum service delivery standards, without which neither audits nor enforcement could proceed.
Dr. Minhaj Qidwai, former CEO of the Sindh Healthcare Commission, shared that Sindh’s provincial law explicitly bars individuals with conflicts of interest from serving on the commission’s board. He recommended urgent amendments to the IHRA Act to address similar issues.
Dr. Amjad Ali Khan added that the committee would also raise objections about potential conflicts of interest in the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and push for similar reforms. He also criticized IHRA’s hiring process, noting that many newly recruited staff lacked the necessary qualifications or experience.
The IHRA CEO further irked committee members by claiming that the licensing of healthcare facilities was the responsibility of PMDC—a statement the sub-committee flatly rejected. “This shows a complete lack of understanding of your own mandate,” one member remarked.
The committee called for an urgent meeting of IHRA’s Registration Board and ordered the immediate formation of an inspection committee. It also recommended measures to regulate the rates charged by private hospitals and clinical laboratories. Additionally, the committee decided to summon the administrations of major private hospitals in Islamabad on July 9.
“If this is the state of regulation in the capital, what must the situation be in the rest of the country?” the sub-committee chairman concluded.
Ends