Islamabad: A report by the Intelligence Office (IB) states that an “organized corruption system” has been frequent in the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), specifically highlighting the “fraudulent” establishment and the recognition of Bahawalpur Medical College (BMC), according to a document available with Sunrise.
However, the current PMDC management has distanced itself from the accusations, stating that any irregularity occurred in the past and that new controls and balances have now been introduced.
“It is learned that there is an organized corruption system prevalent in PMDC mainly due to excessive discretionary powers and a lack of transparency,” the report said. “A perception persists that bribery is a norm for the recognition of private medical and dental universities, as well as their affiliated teaching hospitals and for their inspections.”
The report also claimed: “According to reports, private medical universities pay approximately RS10 million per seat for the allocation of additional students. Another route for corruption is the recognition of medical magazines.”
The document said that an investigation revealed the “inability and inefficiency” of the now missing Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) during the Bahawalpur Medical College (BMC) recognition process and its subsequent withdrawal.
“The recognition of BMC, followed by its abruptness, highlights severe lapses in the regulatory framework of PMC. BMC was initially awarded the recognition based on incomplete documentation and without the mandatory inspection, in exchange for a bribe,” said the report.
According to the IB, “in general, the inspection teams of eight members are formed to inspect the medical universities. However, in the case of BMC, only a team of two members was constituted, which did not really visit the facilities of the university and only signed the previously Drafted inspection report, which led to the recognition of BMC without complying with the required criteria.”
The report added: “Pertinent to mention that multiple investors initially participated in the establishment of BMC. However, some of them left after developing differences due to delays in their recognition and operation. According to the reports, one of them filed a complaint against the recognition of BMC, which led to the suspension/withdrawal of recognition by PMC.”
“In this sense, the general management of a missing PMC was responsible for the mishandling of the problem,” the report claimed. The BMC is no longer functional, since the federal government withdrew its registration last year, and its students were distributed among other medical universities.
Posted in Dawn, May 15, 2025
