ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday called for improving regulatory framework for medical education in Pakistan to make it at par with international standards and to resolve issues faced by Pakistani students studying abroad, Pakistani state media reported.
The decision was made at a meeting of a government committee on medical education in Islamabad, which was presided over by Dar. The committee reviewed medical education system, including fee structures, and identified key areas for improvement to align it with global standards.
The development came days after hundreds of Pakistani medical students returned from Kyrgyzstan following last week’s mob attacks on residences of foreign students studying in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek over an earlier brawl between several Kyrgyz men and some Egyptian students.
Medical schools of Kyrgyzstan have over the last few decades become popular among aspiring doctors from India, Pakistan and some other Asian and Arab countries, in part thanks to relatively affordable fees and living expenses.
“The Deputy Prime Minister underlined the need to establish coordination mechanism between medical institutions and the public and private sector to ensure uniform high-quality education in all provinces,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The meeting decided to constitute a sub-executive committee to review the existing TORs [terms of reference], synergize the regulatory bodies, streamline procedures for foreign students in Pakistan and uniformity in curricula.”
PM Shehbaz Sharif constituted the committee on medical education on May 20. The committee, which includes representatives of the medical community, education sector and government officials, was set up to reform medical education, improve health care standards and ensure highest quality of medical training for future generations of health care professionals.
“The sub-committee will prepare its report with the objective to ensure that medical graduates in Pakistan are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to meet contemporary health care challenges,” the report read.

ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani delegation is expected to visit Kuwait by the end of the month to strengthen bilateral cooperation and highlight business opportunities in the country amid renewed efforts to attract investment from the Gulf state.
Last year, the two countries agreed to deepen their economic and investment ties during the visit of interim prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to the Arab state in late November. The visit was billed as a significant step in enhancing the relationship between the two countries, with the signing of various memoranda of understanding aimed at boosting cooperation in fields such as manpower, information technology, mineral exploration, food security, energy and defense.
Kakar’s visit to Kuwait came just a few months after the country established the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a civil-military hybrid body designed to oversee foreign financing with a specific focus on the Gulf region.
The upcoming visit of the Pakistani delegation, led by Federal Minister for Board of Investment, Privatization and Communications Abdul Aleem Khan, was announced in an official statement, although the exact dates were not specified.
“During the visit to Kuwait, there will be progress in providing employment to more workforce from Pakistan, especially health professionals and skilled labor,” Khan was quoted as saying in the statement.
“Pakistan will increase cooperation [with Kuwait] by taking on board its export companies for dairy farming, meat products, rice and other food items and move forward through accelerated measures,” he added.
The minister expressed optimism that the visit would mark the beginning of a new era of mutual cooperation, improvement in economic affairs and investment, for which the relevant departments were making preparations.
He presided over a meeting about the visit and told participants that Kuwait’s envoy had also been taken on board while making all necessary arrangements.
The delegation is expected to hold meetings with top officials of the Gulf country to discuss trade and business activities between the two countries.