Islamabad:The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has directed doctors and dentists holding inactive registrations or licences to get them validated and renewed within six months, warning that practitioners whose registrations remain unrenewed for more than 10 continuous years will be permanently removed from its register.
In a public notice issued on Tuesday, the PMDC said the direction had been issued under the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Act, 2022 and applicable regulations, asking affected practitioners not to wait until the end of the six-month period.
The regulator said the exercise was aimed at updating the national professional register and ensuring that only duly registered and authorised medical and dental practitioners could practise in Pakistan.
The notice is significant as an accurate, verifiable register is central to identifying licensed practitioners, checking the validity of professional credentials and preventing the misuse of registration certificates by unqualified persons.
According to the notice, doctors who fail to renew their registration for a continuous period exceeding 10 years would be permanently removed from the PMDC register. It advised all medical and dental practitioners with inactive registrations to complete the renewal process within six months of publication of the notice to avoid regulatory action.
The council said updating registration records would help protect both doctors and patients, while strengthening public confidence in the medical profession and healthcare system. PMDC said the process would also assist it in addressing quackery, forged documents, fraudulent use of registration certificates and unauthorised medical practice. A current database, it said, would make it more difficult for individuals to falsely claim professional credentials or use another practitioner’s registration details.
The regulator also linked the drive to preventing the misuse of credentials belonging to deceased doctors and dentists. Regular verification of the register, it said, would enable the council to identify outdated records and take appropriate action.
Pakistan has repeatedly faced concerns about unregistered practitioners, quackery and the use of fake or borrowed credentials, particularly in areas where regulatory inspection and public awareness remain weak.
However, the PMDC notice did not provide the number of inactive registrations currently on its rolls, the number of practitioners whose registration had lapsed for more than a decade, or details of the procedure and fee for renewal.
The council added that valid registration was not merely an administrative requirement but a professional and ethical responsibility. It said an updated registration certificate would provide doctors and dentists verifiable evidence of their professional standing for practice within Pakistan as well as for jobs, training, licensing and other opportunities abroad.
The PMDC urged doctors and dentists with long-outstanding renewals to use the stipulated period to regularise their registrations, saying the measure was intended to keep the professional register current and safeguard the integrity of the country’s medical and dental profession.
