Medical Institutions publishing journals must establish
proper systems and have dedicated Journal Staff
PAME meeting at PJMS offices
KARACHI: An informal meeting of the members of the Pakistan Association of Medical Editors (PAME) was held on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at the offices of the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. The meeting was attended by Prof. Jamshed Akhtar, former President of PAME and Editor of the Journal of Surgery Pakistan; Prof. Nazeer Khan, General Secretary of PAME; Prof. S. M. Mubeen from JPMA; Prof. Saeeda Baig from Pakistan Journal of Medicine & Dentistry, Prof. Nazish Imran, Chief Editor of the Annals of King Edward Medical University, Lahore, who was visiting Karachi; Mr. Shaukat Ali Jawaid, Chief Editor of the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences; Dr. Masood Jawaid, Associate Editor of PJMS; Ms. Shabana from the Journal of the College of Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan; Prof. Mubarak from SIUT; Dr. Hira Attique from Ziauddin Medical University; and Mr. Mubarak Ali from PJMS.
PAME organized a meeting at Offices of Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences on Saturday July 12th, 2025 and discussed some important issues related to Medical Journals. Prof. Saeeda Baig hosted Lunch for the participants. Group photograph taken on the occasion shows from (L to R) Prof. Saeeda Baig, Mr. Shaukat Ali Jawaid, Prof. Jamshed Akhter, Prof. Nazeer Khan. Second row from (L to R) Prof. S.M. Mubeen, Prof. Nazish Imran, Ms. Shabana, Dr. Hira Attique, Dr. Masood Jawaid and Prof. Mubarak.
During the meeting, various critical issues concerning medical journals and the performance of regulatory bodies were discussed. A major concern raised was the unchecked and rapid growth of predatory journals, which lure faculty members with promises of quick publication. The participants noted a worrying trend in the sale and purchase of authorship through social media advertisements and announcements, contributing to intellectual corruption that could severely harm medical education and tarnish Pakistan’s reputation.
The attendees urged regulatory bodies to take firm action against these practices. They emphasized that medical institutions publishing academic journals must establish a proper infrastructure, including dedicated offices and support staff, to ensure the sustainability and quality of these publications. Instead of assigning editorial responsibilities as an additional charge to faculty members, institutions should appoint permanent Managing Editors or Executive Editors, with faculty members supervising overall journal operations. These editorial staff should be offered appropriate incentives and financial support. Furthermore, editors should be appointed on contract, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. It was recommended that each journal maintain a separate bank account, jointly operated by the Editor and a representative nominated by the institution.
A view of the PAME meeting in progress held at Offices of Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences on Saturday July 12th, 2025 which discussed some important issues related to Medical Journals. Prof. Saeeda Baig hosted Lunch for the participants. Photograph taken on the occasion shows from (L to R) Mr. Shaukat Ali Jawaid Chief Editor PJMS, Prof. Nazish Imran Chief Editor Annals of KEMU, Prof. Nazeer Khan Secretary General PAME, Prof. S.M. Mubeen from JPMA, Prof. Mubarak from SIUT, Ms. Shabana from JCPSP, Prof. Saeeda Baig Editor Pakistan Journal of Medicine and Dentistry, Dr. Masood Jawaid Associate Editor PJMS, Prof. Jamshed Akhter former President PAME, Editor Journal of Surgery Pakistan and Dr. Hira Attique from Ziauddin Medical University.
Participants expressed concern that many faculty members have received promotions by publishing in predatory journals. Without adequate training themselves, they are ill-equipped to mentor others. Medical universities, being key players in knowledge creation, must foster a culture of quality research. Therefore, institutions should allocate specific funds for journal publication and regularly organize workshops on scientific writing, research methodology, and publication ethics. It was also proposed that research supervisors be required to attend refresher courses to stay updated on developments in medical journalism and scholarly publishing.
The meeting resolved to encourage the PAME Executive Committee, as well as its general members, to organize such workshops in their respective regions to promote the association’s goals. Editors from major cities—including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi-Islamabad, Peshawar, and Faisalabad—should meet regularly, rotating venues across institutions, to collaborate, share resources, and support each other. This will not only foster teamwork but also enhance knowledge sharing and professional growth. The group also stressed the importance of encouraging authors to cite articles published in Pakistani biomedical journals to increase local citation rates.
During her visit, Prof. Nazish Imran spent a day observing the operations of the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. The Chief Editor and support staff provided her with a detailed briefing on their editorial process, including pre-submission review, initial screening, editor triage, internal and external reviews, reviewer selection, plagiarism checks, post-acceptance editing, DOI generation, PDF creation, author corrections, and final publication. She was also informed about PJMS’s arrangements for the preparation of XML files by overseas vendors to meet the requirements of PubMed Central, as this software is currently unavailable in Pakistan. The group discussed the importance of establishing local facilities for XML file generation, which would help more Pakistani journals achieve indexing in PubMed Central, significantly increasing their visibility and readership. Prof. Saeeda Baig hosted a lunch for all participants at the end of the meeting.
It was such a well-attended meeting with an agenda that was both highly relevant and much needed.
As editors, we are all aware of these pressing issues, but it’s only PAME that has the power to voice our concerns to the HEC and PMDC. One of the major problems we’re facing is with the Y category HEC journals, which are claiming recognition by the CPSP. These journals are often run by non-medical staff with no real experience in our field, and many postgraduate CPSP trainees are resorting to paying them under the table just to get their articles published. The numbers are staggering, and unfortunately, no one seems to be addressing this.
Another major issue is the challenge of converting XML-files for PubMed indexing. This is a huge obstacle to getting our journals indexed, and it’s something that needs immediate attention.
At JUCMD, we prioritize quality above all else. We don’t charge authors for publishing, allowing them to focus on their research. Our goal is not to profit but to increase our visibility and citation rates rather than hoarding funds for the University of Lahore. However, unless authors are fully informed about these unethical practices and the HEC takes a firm stand against these predatory journals, any talk of quality will remain meaningless.
Thank you for bringing these important issues to the forefront.