In the KP doctors fake PMDC registration case, the provincial health department has formally dismissed 30 doctors over alleged fake registration with the medical council and illegal recruitment.
The department said the decision followed a detailed review of the doctors’ written explanations, the evidence they submitted and the inquiry reports. Show-cause notices were issued to all of them, and each was given a personal hearing before the dismissal orders were notified.
Recruited in 2017, served at BHUs and rural hospitals
The medical officers were recruited in 2017 and were later regularised through an act of the provincial assembly, according to a report by Kashmir English that independently covered the dismissals. They were serving at basic health units, rural health centres, tehsil headquarters hospitals and other government health facilities across Charsadda, Khyber, Swabi, Lower Dir, Mansehra, Malakand, Swat, Upper Dir and Shangla.
Some of the officers had earlier obtained a stay order from the Dar-ul-Qaza circuit bench in Swat, the report added. That order has since lapsed, which allowed the department to resume proceedings against them.
Show-cause notices and personal hearings
Before taking action, the department said it issued show-cause notices to all 30 doctors and gave them the chance to respond. Their replies were examined alongside the available records and evidence.
Tauseef Khalid, the additional secretary of the Finance Department, was appointed to conduct personal hearings under Rule 15. After hearing the officers and reviewing the case records, he recommended upholding dismissal as the major penalty. The recommendation was subsequently approved by the chief secretary.
Salaries to be recovered through legal procedures
The department has also ordered the recovery of salaries and other government dues paid to the dismissed doctors during their service. The recovery will go through legal procedures, the department said, to ensure transparency in the health department.
What the KP doctors fake PMDC registration case means for patients
The dismissals settle the question of who is qualified to practise in the province’s public health system, but they raise an uncomfortable one for the past. For years, patients at small rural clinics and district hospitals were treated by doctors whose professional registration was disputed, and most of those patients would never have known.
The action also signals that the province is prepared to claw back public money, not just remove the officers. The next test will be how quickly the salary recovery moves through the legal process.
The episode fits a wider pattern of strain in the country’s health workforce. In Karachi, JPMC doctors have protested over three months of unpaid salaries, while in Balochistan the National Party backed doctors protesting over their conditions. Appointment controversies are not new either: a junior doctor was given the province’s top immunisation post in a move that drew criticism. On the positive side, KP’s public hospitals continue to deliver results, including the first Sehat Card kidney transplant at Khyber Teaching Hospital. The full details of the case were reported by Kashmir English.
FAQ
Why were the 30 KP doctors dismissed?
The KP Health Department says they were dismissed over alleged fake registration with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council and illegal recruitment. The decision followed show-cause notices, a review of their explanations and evidence, and personal hearings.
Where were the dismissed doctors posted?
They were serving at basic health units, rural health centres, tehsil headquarters hospitals and other government facilities across Charsadda, Khyber, Swabi, Lower Dir, Mansehra, Malakand, Swat, Upper Dir and Shangla.
What is PMDC registration?
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council is the national regulator for doctors and dentists. Registration with the PMDC is mandatory to practise medicine legally in Pakistan; practising without valid registration is unlawful.
Will their salaries be recovered?
Yes. The health department has ordered the recovery of salaries and other government dues paid to the dismissed doctors during their service, through legal procedures.
