ISLAMABAD: Member National Assembly (MNA) Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti on Thursday disrupted a meeting of the standing committee on national health services alleging that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) was not giving answers to questions raised by him.

However, in the end, the MNA apologised when the PMDC management informed him that the answers had been sent to him a month ago.

Just before the start of the meeting presided over by Khalid Hussain Magsi in the committee room of the health ministry, MNA Bhatti of the PML-N, who also heads a sub-committee on the PMDC, said he would not allow the meeting to proceed unless the PMDC replied to his written queries.

`Unfortunately, parliamentarians arenot getting any respect from the PMDC. I sent the questions to the PMDC registrar but got no reply,` he said.

It may be recalled that on September 1, Mr Bhatti reached the PMDC along with a former registrar of the council and other people and allegedly tried to occupy the building.

They closed the doors, disconnected CCTV cameras, issued a notification regarding the appointment of a new registrar and also posted the photograph of the new registrar on the website of the council.

In the evening, however, police got the ofñce vacated. The next day, one of the management committee members, Prof Abid Faroogi, cancelled the notification regarding the appointment of the new registrar.

Moreover, minister for health Saira Afzal Tarar took notice of the incident and instructed the staff of the ministry not to interfere in the affairs of the PMDC as an official of the ministry had also accompanied the MNA to the PMDC offices.

During the committee meeting on Thursday, PMDC Registrar retired Brig Dr Hafizuddin Ahmed Siddiqui clarified that the replies to the MNA`s queries had been sent to the ministry on September28 as the commission cannot interact with any department directly.

He said if the replies did not reach Mr Bhatti, the ministry should be approached.

Minister Tarar, who was also present in the meeting, said she would hold an inquiry to know why the replies did not reach Mr Bhatti.

However, later, the MNA apologised.

The PMDC registrar told Dawn that he was shocked over the way a parliamentarian behaved during the meeting.

The questionnaire was about the former management and asked why and how Dr Shaista Faisal was appointed the registrar of the PMDC. He also questioned why certain sacked PMDC employees were reinstated and what the status of faculty members in various medical colleges was.

The registrar said that during the meeting of the standing committee held on September 17, the MNA asked him why his queries had not been answered.

`I told him that I was not aware of it as I joined the PMDC just two days before, he said.

However, Mr Siddiqui added, he directed his office to prepare the replies stating that the former PMDC management had reinstated the officials. DrShaista Faisal was not a permanent registrar but had been given the charge on a temporary basis.

The detail about the faculty members along with the answers to some minor queries had also been sent to the health ministry on September 28, he said.

MNA Bhatti told Dawn that he had sent the questionnaire to the PMDC two months ago asking why some officials dismissed from service had been reinstated.

`I had also asked some other questions but despite three reminders and verbally asking the PMDC management, the replies were not provided to me.

He said when he came to know that the answers to his questions were not part of the agenda of the meeting he warned that if he did not get the answers he would have no other option but to resign as a member of the committee.

When he was told that the PMDC management had arranged a copy of the answers to be sent to the ministry he said he regretted his actions.

`The answers showed that the report of the sub-committee, headed by me, released in February 2014 was correct and it has been proved that the former management of the PMDC had committed corruption,` he said.