ISLAMABAD, APR 17 – The Supreme Court has said that the PMDC has the right to appoint its own registrar and directed the incumbent registrar to approach the council for his reappointment.

It has disposed of the contempt petition being heard in the Islamabad High Court and approved the government’s appeal challenging the restoration of PMDC Registrar Brigadier (retd) Hafeezuddin.

The registrar was barred from taking office on Wednesday until the top court decided whether his appointment was legal or not.

The court has formed a nine-member ad-hoc council to run the PMDC. It will be headed by Justice (retired) Aijaz Afzal Khan.

The other members of the council include the attorney-general, surgeon-general of Pakistan, the vice-chancellor of the National University of Medical Sciences, the vice-chancellor of the University of Health Sciences, vice-chancellor of Sindh Jinnah Medical University and the vice-chancellor of Khyber Medical University.

It also will have the vice-chancellor of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University, vice-chancellor of Bolan Medical University Quetta and the principal of the de’Montmorency College of Dentistry.

The Supreme Court declared the order restoring the PMDC registrar null and void. The appointment of the registrar is the PMDC’s job, said the court. It has told the registrar to approach the PMDC directly for his reappointment.

It has asked him to take back his contempt of court notice and said the petition being heard in the Islamabad High Court has therefore been dismissed.