Express Tribune Editorials 16th September 2026

Fading medical dream

The sharp decline in candidates registering for MDCAT, the Medical and Dental College Admission Test, is a warning about the changing aspirations of Pakistan's young people and, perhaps more importantly, their diminishing confidence in the institutions that govern one of the country's most prestigious professions. Official figures show that MDCAT registrations have fallen from 204,253 in 2022 to 138,158 this year. The decline has been gradual but persistent, with numbers falling to 180,534 in 2023 and 140,071 in 2025. Even reopening registration after this year's examination was postponed produced only 2,063 additional candidates.

It would be convenient to conclude that young Pakistanis have simply lost interest in medicine. The MDCAT itself has repeatedly become a source of anxiety. In 2023, the Sindh test was cancelled and ordered to be retaken after allegations of malpractice, leading to legal challenges from candidates. In 2024, the controversy was even more damaging. An FIA forensic investigation found that the paper had been circulated through WhatsApp before the examination, while the Sindh High Court subsequently observed that the leak had compromised the integrity of the process. This distrust is only part of the explanation. Medicine has also become a less attractive economic proposition. Private medical education can cost millions of rupees, while the path from graduation to a stable and rewarding career remains uncertain. PMDC itself acknowledged this year that the country has expanded undergraduate medical education without creating enough funded postgraduate training positions. Meanwhile, students can see alternatives in AI and biotechnology offering potentially faster career progression and greater international mobility.

The falling numbers should prompt an uncomfortable question. Are Pakistan's brightest students abandoning medicine, or are institutions failing to give them sufficient reason to choose it? The answer may be both.

Unchanged policy rate

The SBP's Monetary Policy Committee has kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 11.5 per cent. While a general anticipation had been building up for an immediate raise in the policy rate - largely driven by the severe economic pressures of global oil price-fueled inflation across the country - the central bank's strategic decision to opt for a status quo should actually come as a highly welcome surprise for the broader economy.

With the inflation rate hovering around 11 per cent, real interest rates remain exceptionally tight. In fact, looking strictly at the core macroeconomic indicators, there is arguably still ample room for the central bank to aggressively raise the policy rate by at least another 100 basis points to firmly anchor inflationary expectations going forward. In this backdrop, the disappointment expressed by the FPCCI makes little economic sense. The representative chamber, in an official statement, laments the MPC's decision, arguing that local trade and industry are in dire need of immediate breathing space to survive the current stagnation-prone economic environment. However, premature monetary easing could severely backfire on price stability.

This latest policy decision marks the third consecutive hold by the SBP following a significant 100-basis-point increase implemented back in April, which was notably the first interest rate hike the country had witnessed in nearly three years. The subsequent July meeting had also left the benchmark rate untouched at 11.5 per cent. At that time, the central bank had cited an improving macroeconomic outlook, though they cautiously tempered their optimism by highlighting severe external risks, particularly the conflict in the Middle East. By holding steady once again, the SBP has wisely resisted the pressure to hike rates further, choosing to support economic momentum rather than choking economic growth in the name of inflation control.

Whither austerity

The government, surprisingly, believes that its so-called relief packages and austerity measures are a panacea for all inflation-driven ills. In a move that feels like déjà vu, it has introduced a Special Relief Scheme for low-income and middle-class consumers reeling under exorbitant fuel prices. Fuel subsidies, it says, will be provided to motorcyclists, rickshaw drivers and owners of vehicles up to 800cc. There is little clarity on how this will be implemented or what cost-effective relief will actually reach the downtrodden. The estimated cost of this benevolence is supposed to be around Rs25 billion per month. The point, however, is that a similar scheme announced earlier only gathered dust on the files, with hardly any trickle-down effect.

The beleaguered dispensation, mired in political instability, is likewise mulling reviving measures such as an early shutdown of businesses, cuts in fuel allowances for official vehicles, and a partial work-from-home policy in the public sector. All such austerity gimmicks, however, have proved to be a hoax, as the rich and the powerful remain immune to these restrictions. Instead, these haphazard curbs clamped on daily life further burden ordinary citizens who are already suffering under double-digit inflation. There is zero empathy for the masses, especially as a staggering levy of over Rs100 per liter remains firmly in force. To make matters worse, the unprecedented Rs30 spike in petrol prices over a mere five days is absolutely appalling.

The masses have every right to question why only the salaried and lower-middle classes should always bear the brunt of the government's economic stabilisation policy, while media ads and fancy billboards glorifying government performance, unnecessary foreign trips for officials, and the misuse of funds remain constant. A very pertinent question is why the IMF is not interested in a proper taxation regime for traders and agricultural income, and why there is relief for the booming real estate sector. Apparently, the petrol levy is the government's non-negotiable red line for revenue generation, as the masses can be squeezed without any socio-political backlash.