The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Lahore has called on the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to immediately enter the MD/MS degrees of approximately 77 senior consultants on their professional licenses, 24NewsHD TV reported on Wednesday.
In a press statement, PMA Lahore President Prof Dr Shahid Shaukat Malik expressed grave concern that despite holding PMDC-approved MD/MS qualifications, these consultants’ degrees have not yet been reflected on their licenses.
"As a result, they are facing unnecessary obstacles affecting their professional recognition, promotions, and career progression".
According to the PMA, the affected consultants earned their postgraduate degrees from leading public sector institutions, including King Edward Medical University (KEMU), Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), and the University of Health Sciences (UHS) Lahore, among others.
Their respective degree programmes and training hospitals were initially approved by the former Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC).
However, in 2023, PMDC withdrew that approval through a council decision and introduced a temporary amnesty policy.
Under this arrangement, FCPS qualification holders were allowed licensing validity until 2028, while MD/MS degree holders were granted licensing only until 2023.
Consequently, nearly 70 MS (Master of Surgery), MD (Doctor of Medicine) and MDS (Master of Dental Surgery) doctors trained in government hospitals and graduating from public universities, remain in professional limbo.
The PMA said the issue has persisted since 2023 and remains unresolved.
Malik further noted that, despite the controversy, several medical universities and the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) continue to admit candidates into certain postgraduate programmes that lack formal PMDC approval.
If this practice continues, he warned, more doctors may face similar professional hardships and possible exploitation in the future.
The association emphasized that the affected consultants obtained their degrees from duly recognized public institutions and should not be subjected to discriminatory treatment.
Their professional status, it said, must be restored without delay.
Professor Malik also stressed that the same level of exemption and facilitation granted to CPSP degree holders should be extended to university graduates to ensure merit-based equality and equal professional opportunities for all qualified doctors.
The PMA has demanded that PMDC immediately endorse MD/MS degrees on the licenses of eligible doctors, extend equivalent exemption facilities to university graduates, and issue a clear and transparent policy to resolve the matter.
It further urged the regulator to prevent any university or institution from launching or continuing postgraduate medical programmes without formal PMDC approval to safeguard doctors from future exploitation.