The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill for separating Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) from Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU). Opposition Leader in Senate Aitzaz Ahsan said that his party did not oppose the bill as the government has accepted certain conditions, including allocation of 200 acres of land for the university.
The bill, which has already been passed by National Assembly, was moved by Minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Tariq Fazal Chaudhary and was adopted by the House after he assured that all the commitments made by the government in the bill be fulfilled.
According to statement of objects and reasons of the bill, "The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Islamabad (PIMS) shall be a teaching hospital of the university and it shall be headed by an executive director appointed by the prime minister in the manner as may be prescribed under the Civil Servants Act, 1973 (LXXI of 1973) and the rules made there under.
"All the teaching posts and teaching faculty of the PIMS existing on commencement of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad (Amendment) Act, 2017 shall, subject to their option under sub-section (3B), stand transferred to the Federal Medical and Dental College. "The incumbents of the teaching posts to be transferred under sub-section (3A) may, within a period of not exceeding sixty days, exercise a one-time irrevocable option either to become employees of the Federal Medical and Dental College or, as the case may be, continue to be employees of the PIMS." Later winding up a debate regarding commitments made by the federal government to Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition without taking Parliament into confidence, State Minister for Maritimes Authority Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal said that Pakistan will not be part of any alliance against any Islamic state.