MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court has directed the government and health authorities to strictly enforce the policy governing registration, affiliation and supervision of allied health sciences institutions across the region, warning that no institution would be allowed to operate in violation of the law or compromise public health.
The directions were issued by Justice Sardar Mohammad Ejaz while deciding two consolidated writ petitions challenging respectively the functioning of private paramedical and allied health institutes in Muzaffarabad and the legality of action initiated against some of them.
In one petition, filed by four members of the Central Bar Association, Muzaffarabad, the court was urged to examine the legality of private institutes offering various medical technician, pharmacy and allied health courses, allegedly without fulfilling mandatory standards, affiliations and seat approvals prescribed by relevant statutory bodies.
The petitioners contended that several institutions had entered into memoranda of understanding with public and private hospitals for clinical training without lawful authorisation and were enrolling students and issuing diplomas and degrees in violation of prescribed criteria, thereby endangering public lives.
The judge noted that the government had already promulgated a comprehensive policy on March 28, 2019, regulating registration, affiliation and issuance of no-objection certificates for allied health sciences institutions in AJK.
Under the policy, institutions were required to follow curricula and examination systems of recognised bodies such as the Punjab Medical Faculty, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Medical Faculty or HEC-recognised universities, submit annual teaching plans, and ensure proper clinical training arrangements.
Rejecting the plea that no regulatory mechanism existed, Justice Ejaz observed that the policy adequately addressed the concerns raised and empowered the health department to take action against non-compliant institutions. He also took note of a letter written by the district health officer, Muzaffarabad, in May 2023 seeking the sealing of a private institute, holding that the action was taken in accordance with the existing policy framework.
During proceedings, the director general health appeared before the court and conceded that while around 25 allied health institutions were operating in AJK, he could not categorically state whether all were functioning in accordance with prescribed standards.
He assured the court that the department would take legal action against institutions found violating the law and would not allow anyone to “play with human lives”.
Justice Ejaz, however, remarked that the authorities had failed to effectively discharge their regulatory obligations.
He also referred to communications from the Allied Health Professionals Council (AHPC), Islamabad, asserting that it was the sole statutory body for approval and registration of allied health institutions under the AHPC Act, 2022, and stressing mandatory institutional registration, a matter he described as one of “deep concern”.
Underscoring judicial restraint in policy matters, Justice Ejaz held that the court could not substitute or interfere with a government policy unless it was shown to be arbitrary, mala fide or violative of fundamental rights, citing precedents of the Supreme Court.
Consequently, he partly accepted the petition filed by the lawyers and directed the official respondents to implement the 2019 policy “in letter and spirit”, inspect all public and private allied health institutions across the state, determine whether they met the required standards, and initiate legal action on a priority basis against those operating unlawfully.
The second petition, filed by owners and managers of five private institutes seeking quashment of inquiry proceedings and restoration of their clinical training arrangements, was dismissed. Justice Ejaz held that lawful proceedings initiated by the authorities could not be restrained, particularly when similar challenges had already been rejected in earlier litigation.
He directed that a compliance report be submitted to the registrar within three months and ordered the judgement to be circulated to the concerned quarters for immediate implementation.
Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2025
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