In another twist in the ongoing PMDC (Pakistan Medical and Dental Council) controversy, the government on Thursday declared the appointment of its registrar illegal.

In this connection, the Ministry of National Health Services filed a petition for the review of the Islamabad High Court’s March 30 orders.

The petition, which has been sent to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) chief justice’s office for hearing, said that the ordinance under which Hafeez-ur-Rehman was appointed the PMDC registrar had ceased to exist.

It mentioned that the Senate had rejected the ordinance on August 19, 2018 through a resolution, which meant that the appointment was nullified after that.

The petition said the March 30 orders had been implemented but Hafeez was more the PMDC registrar, adding that facts were not discussed the contempt of court plea.

Earlier, the Ministry of National Health Services on Wednesday once again locked the PMDC office and prohibited its staff from joining the office, despite the IHC’s orders to allow the registrar to resume his duties.

The move came as the ministry partially implemented the court orders. It symbolically opened the registrar office and gave him access for limited time duration on the day the court issued the orders.