Web Desk: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s health department has dismissed 30 medical officers over allegations that they secured government appointments in 2017 using fraudulent Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) registrations and irregular documentation, officials said.
The department has also ordered recovery of salaries and other payments made to the dismissed doctors after disciplinary proceedings upheld the major penalty against them.
The action relates to appointments made during the first tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in the province. The doctors were later regularised through provincial legislation, according to officials familiar with the case.
The disciplinary proceedings had remained pending for some time as the affected doctors obtained a stay order from the Dar-ul-Qaza court in Swat. The stay was subsequently lifted, allowing the health department to resume the proceedings.
Officials then issued show-cause notices directly to the doctors and gave them an opportunity to present their defence. The department reviewed their responses, official records and other available evidence before proceeding with the disciplinary action.
The case was also referred for a personal hearing under Rule 15. Finance Department Additional Secretary Tauseef Khalid was appointed to conduct the hearing and examine the allegations and supporting record.
Following the hearing, Khalid recommended confirmation of the major penalty against the officials. The chief secretary subsequently approved the recommendation under his powers.
The dismissed medical officers had been posted at basic health units, rural health centres, tehsil headquarters hospitals and other government healthcare facilities in several districts.
These included Charsadda, Khyber, Swabi, Lower Dir, Mansehra, Malakand, Swat, Upper Dir and Shangla.
Among those named in the disciplinary action were Dr Wajid Ali Shah, Dr Muhammad Haroon Khan, Dr Subhanullah, Dr Ijaz Ahmed, Dr Ashfaq Ahmed, Dr Aqsa Ashraf, Dr Waqar Ahmed, Dr Rahim Khan, Dr Usman Khan, Dr Tala Hussain, Dr Muhammad Qasim, Dr Tariq Khan, Dr Sher Azim Shah, Dr Sajjad Ali, Dr Qaiser Rahim and Dr Fazal Ahad.
Officials said two of the doctors were nephews of a senior provincial bureaucrat and were brothers. The allegation involving their family connection was part of the broader controversy surrounding the appointments.
According to officials, the health department had recently revived the previously pending proceedings and completed the disciplinary action.
The department is now expected to initiate criminal proceedings against the doctors in connection with the alleged fraudulent registrations and appointments.
The case highlights wider concerns over financial and administrative irregularities in provincial institutions, although the allegations remain subject to any further legal proceedings and the affected individuals’ right to challenge the decisions.
Read more: Tariq Fazal Demands Rs800 Billion Accountability from PTI
