News Detail
Event Title: Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination presiding over a meeting of the committee at Parliament House Islamabad.
Event Date: 2025-10-07
The Senate Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination met under the chairmanship of Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti.
The meeting was attended by Senators Syed Masroor Ahsan, Mohammad Humayun Mohmand, Dilawar Khan, Anusha Rehman Ahmad Khan, Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Dr. Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, and Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Syed Mustafa Kamal, along with concerned officials from the Ministry.
The Committee was briefed on the existing administrative control of Islamabad Dental Hospital under Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) and the provisions of the PIMS Act, 2023, assigning administrative authority to the Executive Director, PIMS. The Committee was informed that an internal committee has been constituted to examine the matter. The Federal Minister for National Health Services apprised the Committee that a meeting of the Ministry’s internal committee will be held tomorrow to deliberate on whether the SZABMU will remain under the administrative control PIMS or remain with the institution currently supervising it. The outcome of the discussion will be shared with the Committee in its next meeting.
The Committee took up agenda regarding the direction given to the M/O NHSR&C to submit a comprehensive report on medicine pricing, including details of hardship cases and new registrations, for consideration in the next meeting prior to further deliberation on the Bill. The Minister said that the matter of medicine pricing is highly sensitive, therefore requested the Chairman that the issue should be discussed separately in an in-camera session of the Committee. The chairman committee agreed.
Minister Mustafa Kamal informed that last year the Ministry’s budget was Rs. 21 billion, which has now been reduced to Rs. 14 billion. The Minister added that no new projects have been initiated this year, and although 12 new projects were proposed, no funds were allocated for them, resulting in their halt and that all ongoing projects are being managed within the allocations of the approved budget.
During the meeting, Senator Anusha Rehman emphasized the need to provide relief to taxpayers by introducing a comprehensive healthcare card to ensure accessible medical facilities for the public.
Minister Mustafa Kamal informed the Committee that while the healthcare card facility exists in some provinces, it is not available in others. He apprised the Committee that Sindh has also undertaken the responsibility of providing healthcare facilities in Tharparkar. Although the healthcare card system has not yet been introduced in Sindh, he added that 16 hospitals in the province are already offering free medical treatment to the public.
Senator Anusha Rehman observed that there is merely a struggle for administrative positions within hospitals. She remarked that it must be examined how doctors are occupying administrative posts, whereas doctors should be appointed for the care and treatment of patients, not for administrative roles.
Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri emphasized the need to address the attitude and behavior of doctors and pointed out that Medico-Legal Officers are often not present on duty. She further highlighted that basic facilities are lacking in government hospitals.
Senator Anusha Rehman also noted that PIMS is overcrowded with patients coming from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & Azad Jamu & Kashmir. She stated that if the hospital was originally established to accommodate three thousand patients but is now receiving ten thousand, a viable solution must be found to address the growing patient load.
Senator Mohammad Humayun Mohmand stated that renowned doctors are opposed to the health card system as their consultation fees are extremely high. He added that more than half of the consultants do not attend duties regularly and suggested that PIMS should be handed over to another administrative body, given that six billion rupees are being allocated to it annually.
Additionally, Senator Anusha Rehman noted that 50 to 60 percent of doctors move abroad, and Pakistan is not producing enough doctors to meet national healthcare needs. She said that even those who become doctors eventually leave the country, adding that most Pakistani doctors are moving to Ireland, where they receive salaries of around 3,000 euros per month.
The Federal Minister for Health, Syed Mustafa Kamal, informed that 22,000 doctors graduate every year in Pakistan, and a large number of female graduates do not continue medical practice after completing their degrees.
Senator Anusha Rehman emphasized that this number should be increased from 22,000 to 44,000, as it is far too low for a population of 250 million.
The Committee also discussed the restoration of the credentials pathway for Aesthetic Physicians, including eligibility criteria, training requirements, and the regulatory framework. Following an in-depth discussion, the Chairman Committee recommended that Senators Dr. Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur and Muhammad Humayun Mohmand be included in the Board of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to ensure expert input and representation in decisions related to aesthetic medicine.