The Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHSR&C) was held under the Chairmanship of Dr. Mahesh Kumar Malani, MNA, at Committee Room no 7, Parliament House, Islamabad. The Committee held an extensive meeting today to examine pressing concerns related to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), medical education testing procedures, regulatory failures in the healthcare sector and ongoing policy issues regarding medicine procurement and public health.

2. The Committee expressed grave concern over the failure of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHSR&C) to resolve the issue of students of Al-Nafees Medical College and directed the PMDC to immediately summon the students and university officials and resolve the matter amicably and to reach a merit-based within five days. Members observed that student careers had been put at risk due to administrative negligence and lack of coordination among PMDC, universities and the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination. The Committee also discussed the matter of Pakistani students graduating from Kyrgyzstan and directed the PMDC that all students who had enrolled at the university during the period when the medical college was duly registered should be recognized without any further delay.

3. Addressing the resurgence of polio, the Committee noted that cases had re-emerged in South KP and Karachi due to poor sanitation and repeated failure to vaccinate large numbers of children due to security reasons and other such constraints. It was observed that while vaccination drives were ongoing, complementary measures such as drainage cleaning and environmental sanitation were being ignored by local administrations. Members stressed that preventing polio required a holistic response, not just immunization.

4. “The Pharmacy (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (moved by Mr. Abdul Qadir Patel, MNA)” was deferred to the next meeting. On the issue of mental health legislation, the Committee recommended withdrawal of “The Islamabad Healthcare Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2024” (moved by Ms. Shaista Pervaiz, MNA) only on the assurance by the M/o NHSR&C that its provisions would be incorporated into the Allied Health Professionals Council Act, 2022, to avoid duplication.

5. The Committee further directed to expedite recruitments at DRAP, and to ensure standardization and price regulation of medical devices, including stents and lenses. It emphasized that there must be no compromise on quality and strictly prohibited the use of substandard instruments. The Committee also sought an update on DRAP’s digital licensing system and ongoing reforms.

6. The Committee deliberated on the longstanding administrative crisis at the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM), where allegations of staff absenteeism, ghost surgeries and internal victimization were raised. The Chairman dissolved the Sub-Committee on NIRM and decided that the issue would now be taken up in the main Standing Committee, where all stakeholders would be heard in an in-camera session.

7. The meeting was attended by MNAs, Ms. Sabheen Ghoury, Ms. Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Ms. Farah Naz Akbar, Dr. Darshan, Ms. Aliya Kamran, Ms. Farukh Khan, Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, Mr. Shabbir Ali Qureshi, Mr. Azim ud Din Zahid Lakhwi, Dr. Nisar Ahmed and Ms. Shaista Pervaiz, MNA/Mover attended the meeting in person. Whereas, Dr. Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, MNA, attended virtually. Other senior officers from the M/o NHSR&C and its attached departments were also present in the meeting.