New Delhi: Medical degrees obtained from colleges located in Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh (PoJKL) will not be registered under Indian Medical Council Act and those possessing such certificates will not be allowed to practice modern medicine in India, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has said.

A senior health ministry official said, “The move comes when one of the medical professional who obtained medicine degree from a medical college in PoK, wanted to purse medical registration from J&K medical council. During the evaluation, it was found that the medical college from where the applicant obtained the degree was and ‘unrecognized medical college’.”

“We had a slew of meeting with officials from the health ministry, home ministry and external affairs ministry on this matter,” said the official.

A notice issued by Dr RK Vats, Secretary-General of MCI said that the entire territories of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India.

“Pakistan is in illegal and forcible occupation of a part of the territory… Accordingly, any medical institution in Pakistan occupied Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh (PoJKL) requires permission /recognition under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. Such permission has not been granted to any medical college in PoJKL,” the notice said.

” Therefore, any qualification obtained from medical colleges located within these illegally occupied areas of India shall not entitle a person for grant of registration under Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 to practice Modern Medicine in India,” it added.