SHC moved against MBBS admission policy disparities

Discrepancies between the Sindh and federal government's policies on the MBBS admission test has left students perplexed and worried stated a plea filed in the Sindh High Court on Wednesday.

At the hearing, the petitioner's counsel moved the court to seek the policy for the entrance test from both, the Centre and the provincial government.

He pointed out that the Sindh and federal government had issued separate dates for the test, and while the latter had announced a syllabus for the exam, the former had not released any details in connection with the entrance exam.

The counsel attributed the discrepancies in the MBBS admission policies of the Sindh and the Centre to the dissolution of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.

And amid the fiasco, students are left perplexed and worried, he said.

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On his request to seek the MBBS admission policy from the federal and Sindh government, the court issued notices to the relevant examination authority, Pakistan Medical Council, Sindh Health department secretary and other respondents, directing them to submit their replies on the plea by October 16.

Meanwhile, a two-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro directed citizens defrauded under the guise of a residential apartments project, Silver Sands, in Clifton to approach a trial court to acquire compensation, and extended the accused builder's bail.

The court issued the directive while hearing the bail plea of the accused builder, Sikandar Abdul Kareem. He is accused of defrauding 600 citizens.

At the hearing, affected citizens complained to the court that the builder had agreed to pay them only Rs1.7 million in compensation. They said the Silver Sands project was started in 1992 but it hadn't been completed to date. Meanwhile, many people who had booked apartments have died, they stated.

According to them, whenever they approach the builder to demand compensation, they are driven away.

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They told the court that Kareem had fled the country after swindling money from them and had now returned.

The court, however, directed them to approach a trial court on the matter of compensation.

"Only the accused's bail plea has been submitted to us and a trial court may conduct proceedings in connection with the payment of compensation," elaborated Justice Kalhoro.

Following this, the court extended the bail of the accused until November 17 and adjourned the hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2020.