ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Senate on Wednesday passed the Pakistan Health Research Council Bill, 2015 unanimously as reported by the Standing Committee.
State Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarrar piloted the bill to provide for reconstitution and reorganization of the Pakistan Health Research Council (The Pakistan Health Research Council Bill, 2015) in the Upper House.
The Statements of Objects and Reasons of the bill says the Pakistan Medical Research Council (PMRC) is an autonomous organization established under Resolution.
Supreme Court of Pakistan directed that bodies set-up through resolutions are not bodies corporate, but are government departments and their employees are civil servants. In order to give legal status of bodies corporate, Establishment Division issued a procedure for implementation by the concerned ministries/divisions.
In order to carry out its mandate and academic based research pursuits effectively, the erstwhile, Ministry of Health agreed that PMRC should continue as an autonomous organization. However, it may be re-named as the Pakistan Health Research Council (PHRC). The Management Services Wing of the Establishment Division has also agreed to the re-constitution of PMRC as PHRC with a legal status of body corporate through an Act of the Parliament.
