Health/Medical Laws

A 1957 law that indemnifies government servants and others against lawsuits or prosecution for actions taken under a 1955 drugs-and-medicines price-control notification that later turned out to be legally invalid.

This 1897 law gave provincial and federal governments emergency powers to inspect travellers, quarantine suspected infected persons, and regulate ports during epidemic outbreaks, but it was repealed in its application to the former Province of West Pakistan by a 1958 Act, limiting its current relevance.

A 1960 ordinance making it a criminal offence for anyone other than a registered medical practitioner to perform eye surgery, with penalties scaling from imprisonment up to one year (fine up to one thousand rupees) up to seven years' imprisonment if the surgery causes complete blindness.

A 1960 ordinance requiring doctors, dentists, nurses, and other listed medical and paramedical professionals in Pakistan to register their qualifications with the provincial Director-General of Health Services.

The Mental Health Ordinance, 2001 sets out the legal framework for assessing, admitting, treating, and discharging persons with mental disorders, protecting their rights, and managing their property through a specialised Court of Protection.

A 1979 ordinance that reorganised Karachi's National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases from a private trust into a statutory body corporate, run by a government-appointed Governing Body chaired by the federal Health Minister.

This 1980 Ordinance established Pakistan's National Institute of Health, its Board of Governors, and its public-health and vaccine-production functions, but it was repealed and replaced by Act No. XIII of 2021.

This 1962 Ordinance established and governed the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, regulating medical/dental institutions, qualifications, and practitioner registration, before being repealed and replaced in 2020.

The Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council Act, 1996, establishes the Council that registers veterinarians, recognizes veterinary qualifications from Pakistani and foreign institutions, and regulates who may practice veterinary medicine in Pakistan.

A 1944 emergency ordinance letting the government order, take over, or supersede local authorities' public health and water-supply services when necessary to control disease, with rule-breaking punishable by up to three months' imprisonment or a fine.

The Unani, Ayurvedic and Homoeopathic Practitioners Act, 1965 creates two regulatory Councils - one for Tib (Unani) and one for Homoeopathy - that recognize teaching institutions, set qualifying exams, and register or list practitioners, while making it an offence for unregistered persons to practise. It has been amended repeatedly since 1965.

The Vaccination Act, 1880, is a colonial-era law that made smallpox vaccination compulsory and inoculation illegal in certain municipalities and cantonments; the extract notes it was already repealed in West Pakistan in 1958, so it is largely historical.