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Chairman Senate Standing Committee On National Health Services Regulations And Coordination Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti presiding over a meeting of the committee at Parliament House on April 24, 2025. — APP
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ISLAMABAD: In an important step towards modernizing the health care framework in Pakistan, on Wednesday, the Senate’s Standing Committee on National Health Services, Rules and Harmony has approved the integration of central health data, mental health reforms, and a number of health care costs.
The meeting, headed by Senator Aamir Waliuddin Chishti, gathered key lawmakers and senior officials, including Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal.
A significant debate focused on Senator Saleem Mandovala’s bill seeks to amend the National Institute of Health (NIH) Act to establish a national cancer registry. Highlighting the absence of central data on cancer types and spreads, Mandovala criticized the government’s inactivity, despite repeated assurances.
Recognizing the importance of the bill, Minister Mustafa Kamal told the committee that the proposal had already been sent to the Ministry of Law and Justice for legal examination.
He, along with NADRA, explained the parallel move to launch a Unified Health ID card system, which aims to link health records to national identity cards.
The minister said, “We are in the final stages of the deal with Nadra, and once it is formally, the project will be completed in three years.”
The committee unanimously approved the bill, which received strong support from senators, including Humayun Muhammad and Irfan Siddiqui, who emphasized that the health system should not wait for perfection.
Resolving the issue of fee regulation in private medical colleges, the minister revealed that a special committee under the Deputy Prime Minister has finalized a structure, of which the annual fee is paid for Rs 18 lakh, of which the conditional allowance is up to Rs 25 lakh.
The third party review will determine whether the college qualifies for a high -fee cap, while colleges will be allowed to increase the maximum of Rs 5 lakh annually.
The committee also developed the Green Late on Mental Health (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was introduced by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zahri. Referring to a deep disturbing incident in Nawabshah, where a mother killed her children, she clearly indicated the urgent need for a healthy health protocol.
The Minister acknowledged the lack of structural guidance for the practitioners and promised to issue psychological care guidelines for federal health institutions within a week.
He added that Pakistan’s mental health system filmed the broader national shortcomings and emphasized the need for federal implementation immediately. The bill was approved with full consensus.
Senator Mohsin Aziz’s Islamabad Health Care Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which aims to standardize diagnostic test prices, raised concerns over unorganized disparity in laboratories. Aziz criticized the lack of progress since January and discussed rural labs against the equivalent of these people in Islamabad.
The minister acknowledged the justification for the issues raised and acknowledged that when the laws exist, the implementation is weak. He requested a month to formulate and implement an effective regulatory framework. The committee agreed to postpone the bill for further review.
The Pakistan Psychological Council Bill, introduced by Senator Kamran Murtaza, was briefly discussed on 2025 and recommended to present it in the House, reviewed by the Ministry of Law and Justice.
In addition, former Deputy Chairman Senate Mirza Mohammad Afridi protested the severe reduction in medical seats allotted to FATA students – from 333 to 194. He alleged that inequality in the distribution of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) seat has been demanded, demanding immediate reform, which includes ease of quality of participation.
The Health Minister assured the committee that 333 seats have been held for the next education meeting and these efforts are underway to allocate the original.
The meeting also saw an encouraging exchange against alleged corruption at the Pakistan Nursing Council.
Minister Mustafa Kamal acknowledged that the organization needs surgical reforms, and has been given a tumor that needs to be removed.
He pledged to take a decisive action and said that political interference had weakened the backbone of nursing services.
Senator Humayun Mohammed warned that influential lobbyists within politics were saving corruption in nursing. Kamal told the committee members, “We need your help for change,” he added, adding that if their efforts fail, they will personally approach them.
At the end of the meeting, Chairman Chishti praised the ministry’s commitment to improve public health and advised that concerns raised about the rules of PMDC exams be raised in the next session of the committee.
