ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has expressed serious concern and alarm over the government’s unilateral enforcement of the Allied Health Professionals Council (AHPC) Act, warning that the move could create a dangerous legal loophole for unauthorised medical practice and compromise patient safety across the country.
As the June 30, 2026 deadline for mandatory registration approaches, the PMA cautioned that the legislation threatens to undo years of progress made to curb quackery through provincial healthcare commissions. It described the law as contradictory to existing regulatory frameworks designed to restrict clinical practice exclusively to qualified medical doctors.
“It is a bitter irony that while Healthcare Commission Acts were enacted to prevent technicians from overstepping their roles, the AHPC Act now provides them with a legal shield to open clinics and perform procedures under the ambit of the law. This is nothing short of legalised quackery,” the PMA said in a statement.
The association strongly criticised the government for initiating the registration and accreditation process in April, 2026 without consulting key stakeholders, including medical doctors, specialists, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), and professional bodies. It warned that the Act had been finalised and enforced without meaningful input from the medical community, resulting in a flawed framework that undermines the established clinical hierarchy.
According to the PMA, granting independent registration to allied health professionals could encourage technicians and therapists to operate autonomous clinics without medical supervision, posing serious risks to patient safety. It emphasised that while allied health professionals were indispensable to the healthcare system, their role must remain supportive and supervised rather than independent.
The association has demanded immediate suspension of the June 30 registration deadline until a joint committee of doctors, regulators, and policymakers redefines the scope of practice. It also called for harmonisation of the AHPC Act with provincial healthcare commission laws to ensure that no allied professional was allowed to establish private clinics for independent medical treatment.
Furthermore, the PMA urged strict oversight to prevent the council from becoming a backdoor for diploma holders to masquerade as clinicians, stressing that unchecked implementation could dilute professional standards and erode public trust in the healthcare system.
The AHPC Act was introduced to regulate and standardise the education, training, and licensing of allied health professionals, including laboratory technicians, physiotherapists, radiographers, and paramedics. However, the PMA maintains that any regulatory reform must be aligned with existing medical laws and implemented in consultation with stakeholders to safeguard patient welfare.
