Senate committee displeased by PMC officials' absence.

ISLAMABAD -- The Senate Functional Committee on Problems of Less Developed Areas expressed displeasure regarding the absence of the Pakistan Medical Commission's (PMC) president and vice president at a committee meeting on Tuesday and decided to issue notices to them.

The committee, chaired by Senator Mohammad Usman Khan Kakar, met at Parliament House to discuss medical seats for students from less developed districts in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's tribal districts.

At the onset of the proceedings, the committee criticised the absence of PMC President Dr Arshad Taqi and Vice President Mohammad Ali Raza. The senators were also displeased by the officials' failure to submit a working paper to the committee.

According to an official statement, the committee decided to issue notices to both officials for not attending the meeting and not providing the committee with a working paper.

The PMC secretary did attend the meeting, but the committee said that committees are an extension of parliament, a supreme body that should be given the complete details on the subject matter.

Higher Education Officials (HEC) told the committee that medical seats for students from Balochistan and the tribal districts have increased significantly in the last few years.

HEC officials said that there were 29 such seats in medical institutions around the country in 2016-17. The seats increased to up to 194 in 2017-18 and 265 in 2018-19. There are 133 seats for...