ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has set another example of nepotism by restoring its former registrar Ahmed Nadeem Akbar, allegedly involved in mega corruption cases of over Rs 100 million.
Interestingly, the PMDC issued a notification for restoration of Dr Akbar on the same day when the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested him in another case of forgery and misconduct. The FIA was also trying to arrest the CEO of Shifa International Hospital Islamabad Dr. Qazi Manzoor ul Haq and a senior doctor of the same hospital Dr. Nasir ud-din Khokhar after registering a first information report (FIR) of forgery and playing with the lives of patients against them.
According to the FIR, a patient, namely Nadeem Akhtar stated that he visited the Shifa International Hospital Islamabad on June 25, 2010, where the head of Gastroenterology Department Dr. Nasir Khokhar examined him and prescribed a certain medicine.
Due to the wrong prescription, the complainant suffered from brain atrophy and impotency. During enquiry, it transpired that Dr Nasir Khokhar was neither a Gastroenterologist nor a specialist of Neurology, but was fraudulently displaying himself as such.
The above doctor had registered with Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) as MBBS doctor (Karachi University) and Diplomat of American Board (DAB) Internal Medicine while claiming several bogus degrees on his letterhead including the Professor of Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, DAB Quality Medicine and Fellow American College of Gastroenterology etc.
The PMDC later issued a warning notice to the above doctor for the incorrect medicine prescription to the complainant and later also cancelled his experience certificate that was issued with the connivance of the then Registrar PMDC, Dr. Ahmed Nadeem Akbar and former Assistant Registrar Muhammad Bashir.
This certificate was allegedly issued by way of incorrect calculation of relevant experience period and PMDC’s disciplinary committee recommended penal action against the officials involved in issuing the certificate.
The CEO of Shifa International Hospital Dr Qazi Manzoor ul Haq Qazi allowed Dr Nasir Khokhar to continue practice as Gastroenterologist in their hospital despite knowing about his non qualification and cancellation of experience certificate. It may be mentioned here that the FIA produced the accused Dr Ahmed Nadeem Akbar in the court of Special Judge Central Malik Nazir, which had granted a four-day physical remand of former Registrar PMDC to FIA for further investigation. FIA sources told this scribe that the other accused in the case were still not held accountable despite the department’s best efforts.
As many as 19 FIRs of corruption, irregularities, embezzlement of funds in various schemes and misuse of powers were already registered against the former registrar Dr Nadeem Akbar by the Police, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the National Accountability Bureau in 2013.
When contacted President PMDC, Dr. Shabeer Lehri said though the former registrar had been restored, his salaries and allowances would only be issued if he obtained clearance from corruption charges. A person facing trail couldn’t be dismissed from service until he was proven guilty, he said, claiming that several employees facing charges of section 302 or others were also working in government sectors.
