Category: 1. Pakistan

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 21 (APP):Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Syed Mustafa Kamal has inaugurated the newly developed MDCAT question bank at the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC).

PM&DC President Prof. Dr. Rizwan Taj briefed the minister on preparations for the upcoming MDCAT Examination 2025.

 The presentation highlighted measures to ensure transparency, security, and fairness in the national medical and dental entrance test.

The minister was informed that PM&DC’s role is confined to registering candidates and providing oversight, while the conduct of the exam, including paper setting, administration, and evaluation, rests solely with the designated public admitting universities.

 Officials clarified that this arrangement ensures impartiality and merit-based admissions.

Reviewing the preparations, Kamal stressed that no lapses would be tolerated in the MDCAT arrangements.

He lauded the creation of the new question bank, calling it a vital step toward reducing errors, enhancing fairness, and strengthening public trust in the evaluation process.

Briefing the Minister, PM&DC officials said more than 30 examination centers have been designated nationwide, with 97,028 candidates already registered. The number is expected to surpass 150,000 before registrations close.

The minister also inspected the online registration and monitoring portal, which incorporates modern digital safeguards to protect the integrity of the exam.

Commending PM&DC’s efforts, Kamal suggested expanding the pool of questions to allow admitting universities greater flexibility in preparing papers.

He emphasized that PM&DC’s primary mandate is to develop a uniform policy framework, while the provinces are responsible for administering the exam transparently.

He also underlined the need for PM&DC to become fully digitized, covering all its functions including inspections, registration, and monitoring, in order to enhance efficiency, transparency, and reduce human interaction.

Reaffirming the government’s support, the minister said that reforms in PM&DC would contribute to strengthening both the health and education sectors.

PM&DC President Dr. Rizwan Taj said that the council has spared no effort in upholding merit and excellence.

He said the standardized syllabus-based question bank addresses concerns of regional disparities, providing a level playing field for all candidates nationwide.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to former prime minister Imran Khan on the principle of consistency in eight cases linked to the May 9 riots, overturning an earlier Lahore High Court ruling that had refused him bail.

“The case of the petitioner has to be positively considered in view of the principle of consistency, as others similarly placed have been granted bail by this Court,” said the four-page order authored by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi.

The three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Afridi, allowed Khan’s petitions against the June 24 decision of the Lahore High Court. The cases stemmed from multiple FIRs registered in Lahore after violent protests that followed Khan’s arrest.

The cases, registered at different police stations including Race Course, Shadman, Mughalpura, Sarwar Road and Gulberg, related to offences under numerous sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, section 16 of the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, and section 11-B of the Arms Ordinance, 1965.

The order noted the “definite findings recorded by the Lahore High Court in the bail refusal order, which go to the very root of the contested claims of the parties.” However, it added: “Without passing any findings on the legality and veracity of the said findings, our concern at this stage is confined only to the fact that such findings have been recorded at the stage of bail.”

The Court converted the petitions into appeals and allowed them. “The petitioner is granted post-arrest bail in the above-mentioned cases, subject to his furnishing bail bond in the sum of Rs100,000 with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court in each case,” the order stated.

Sarwar Muzaffar Shah, an advocate commenting on the written order, said the ruling reminded him of a tribute to American judge Frank Caprio, whom he had been reading about earlier in the day. “He was loved and respected because he believed that law should serve the people; he did not consider it blind,” Shah said.

Shah added that while the substance of the order was correct, it remained weak. “It follows the motto that law is blind. This order should have been a strong one, considering what is happening in our country — the erosion of judicial independence through executive interference and the weakening of public trust in our justice system,” he said.

“An ideal judicial order is one in which the court demonstrates both judicial acumen and judicial courage. However, this order does not demonstrate either. It shows that the court is characteristically playing too safe. Playing too safe is proving dangerous for the justice system of our country,” he added.

Read More: LHC rejects Imran’s bail in eight May 9 cases

In June, Lahore High Court rejected bail petitions filed by Imran Khan in eight cases linked to the May 9, 2023, riots, prompting sharp criticism from the party, which called the ruling a “blatant miscarriage of justice”.

The decision, delivered by a two-member bench led by Justice Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, followed the conclusion of arguments from both prosecution and defence.

Imran’s legal team had argued that the former prime minister was implicated without credible evidence while he was already in custody and denied any involvement in the violence.

The prosecution claimed Khan incited supporters to target military facilities and cited forensic evidence, including audio recordings, which Khan allegedly refused to verify via voice matching.

Imran, Bushra convicted in £190m case

Earlier this year, an Accountability Court convicted Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the £190 million case. Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while Bushra Bibi received a seven-year jail term.

Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana announced the verdict in a courtroom inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where Imran had been detained for over a year.

In addition to the prison sentences, the court imposed fines of Rs1 million on Imran and Rs500,000 on Bushra. If the fines are not paid, Imran Khan will serve an additional six months in prison, while Bushra Bibi will face an extra three months.

The verdict also declared that the property of the “sham trust,” Al-Qadir University Project Trust, would be forfeited to the Federal Government in accordance with Section 10(a) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.

The ruling was announced amid tight security outside the jail. Following the verdict, Bushra Bibi was immediately arrested in the courtroom.

ATC sentenced to PTI leaders

Earlier in July, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore acquitted six Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Hamza Azeem, in connection with the May 9 riots, while sentencing 10 others, including Dr. Yasmin Rashid, to 10 years in prison.

Later, a special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Faisalabad sentenced Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, Opposition Leader in the Senate Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul, MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza, and former MNA Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, among others. In total, 108 PTI leaders were convicted out of 185 implicated in the cases, while 77 others were acquitted.

The ATC in Sargodha also sentenced Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly, PTI’s Malik Ahmed Khan Bhachar, along with other party workers, to 10 years in prison each.

May 9 Riots

The May 9 riots erupted nationwide following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, after which PTI leaders and workers staged protests targeting both civil and military installations, including Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Also Read: Imran involved in May 9 conspiracy, rules LHC

The military condemned the events as a “Black Day” and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act. As a result of the unrest, many PTI members were arrested and tried in military courts. In December, a military court convicted 25 individuals, including Imran Khan’s nephew, Hassan Khan Niazi, and later sentenced 60 more.

In January, 19 convicts had their sentences pardoned following successful mercy appeals, although PTI expressed dissatisfaction over the limited number of pardons.

The military trials had initially been halted following a Supreme Court ruling but were resumed following the court’s instructions to finalise pending cases and announce judgments for those involved in the violent incidents.

The restoration of mobile services in Balochistan was underway on Thursday after the Balochistan High Court (BHC) ordered their immediate resumption, ending a 15-day suspension.

Earlier this month, mobile data services in the province were announced to be suspended until August 31 over “security reasons”. Balochistan’s Consumer Civil Society chairman, Khair Muhammad Shaheen, had filed a constitutional petition against the Pakistan Tele­communication Authority and others regarding the suspension of mobile phone internet services.

The petition argued that the mobile phone services were a basic mode of communication for businessmen, students, educational institutions and others. It added that the suspension constituted a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 9 (security of person), 15 (freedom of movement etc), 18 (freedom of trade, business and profession), 19-A (right to information) and 25 (equality of citizens) of the Constitution.

A two-member BHC bench, comprising Chief Justice Rozi Khan Barrech and Justice Sardar Ahmed Halimi, conducted the first hearing on the petition on August 13, ordering the At­­torney General for Pakis­tan (AGP) Mansoor Awan and Balochistan Advocate General Adnan Basharat to file their replies on the shutdown of internet services in the province.

The same bench heard the case today, ruling that mobile internet services must be restored in Quetta within two hours.

Following the court’s order, mobile internet service has been restored in Quetta and some areas of Pishin and Chaman. Services will be fully restored in Dalbandin, Pishin, Chaman and Taftan within the next two hours, according to PTA officials.

“Orders related to mobile internet restoration are being implemented,” said PTA Director Jamil Ahmed, who appeared in the court when the hearing resumed after a break.

He added that internet services had been restored in some districts, but added that it “takes some time to restore the system”.

The hearing was adjourned until August 25, with the Chief Justice Barrech adding that if mobile internet was not restored by that date, the PTA secretary would be found in contempt of court.

In recent months, the security situation in Balochistan has worsened, as militants, long involved in a low-level insurgency, have stepped up the frequency and intensity of their attacks.

In November of last year, the PTA had announced the government’s decision to suspend internet and mobile services with immediate effect in many districts of Balochistan to ensure public safety, in the wake of terrorist attacks in the province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

For most of the past 25 years, “phenomenal” was not a word many Americans used to describe Pakistan’s co-operation on counter-terrorism. Yet that is how General Michael Kurilla, then head of America’s Central Command, characterised it in June. His praise was striking not just because American officials have long accused Pakistan of covertly backing the Afghan Taliban and sheltering Osama bin Laden, who was killed by American special forces in a Pakistani garrison town in 2011. The remark also came seven weeks after India blamed a terrorist attack in Kashmir on Pakistan, which has a long history of sponsoring similar assaults on Indian soil.

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) announced on Wednesday that it is moving toward full digitalization of its operations while also introducing a question bank for the upcoming Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT).

According to officials, the regulator has begun shifting its systems to technology-based platforms to cut down human involvement in key processes such as student registration, monitoring, and college inspections. The move, they said, is aimed at increasing transparency and efficiency in medical education oversight.

At a briefing in Islamabad, PM&DC President Prof. Dr. Rizwan Taj and the examination department highlighted details of the MDCAT 2025. They explained that while the council will handle registrations and provide supervision, the actual test will be set, conducted, and marked by public universities, a system meant to ensure impartiality.

The newly developed MDCAT question bank is based on a uniform syllabus agreed upon by all provinces. Officials said it will help reduce mistakes and address regional concerns by giving all applicants the same standard of preparation.

So far, more than 97,000 students have signed up for the exam, and the number is expected to reach 150,000 before registration closes. Thirty test centers have been designated across the country.

Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal, who inaugurated the question bank, called the initiative “a step toward restoring public confidence” and warned that lapses in fairness would not be tolerated.