Stakeholders Divided Over Proposed TCAM Act 2025

By Muhammad Shahzad
Lahore, Pakistan
LAHORE: The federal government’s proposed Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine (TCAM) Act 2025 has sparked mixed reactions within Pakistan’s practitioner community, with debates centering on structural reforms, regulatory control, and the future of traditional healthcare systems.
The Pakistan Association of Alternative Medicine (PAAM) has called for refining the council’s framework with input from all relevant stakeholders. PAAM President Kashif Aslam Malik stressed that instead of placing the TCAM Council under the Federal Ministry of National Health Services, a separate and independent ministry should be established to oversee alternative medicine. He cited India’s successful “AYUSH” model as an example of how a dedicated ministry can promote the sector’s growth and international recognition. Mr. Malik emphasized that stakeholder involvement is essential for transparency and for addressing the technical complexities of different treatment modalities.
In contrast, the Pakistan Tibbi Conference (PTC) has strongly opposed the Act, calling it a “destructive” measure. In a statement from its central secretariat, the PTC claimed the legislation—under the guise of a “merger”—effectively seeks to dissolve the National Council for Tib (NCT) as outlined in Section 58(3). The organization argued that the philosophies of Allopathy, Homeopathy, and Unani medicine are fundamentally distinct; for example, Unani’s ‘Humoral Theory’ cannot be governed under the same regulatory framework as modern medicine’s ‘Germ Theory’ without compromising their identities.
The PTC warned that the Act threatens to abolish the four-year Diploma in Tib (FTJ) program, which is central to the country’s traditional healthcare system. It further cautioned that marginalizing more than 230,000 practitioners could worsen Pakistan’s healthcare crisis, where the physician-to-patient ratio remains critically low at approximately 1:1,300.
While PAAM advocates reform through a separate ministry and inclusive governance, the PTC insists on maintaining the current structure of the NCT. Both groups, however, agree that the proposed top-down legislative approach fails to address the sector’s unique needs and risks undermining Pakistan’s alternative medicine heritage.