PEC Elections 2024 TEP, PEG-NEA begin exercises; Najeeb busy cobbling alliance

The alliance between the Professional Excellence Group (PEG) and the National Engineers Alliance (NEA) has created an interesting situation for engineers and their groups across Pakistan. Waseem Nazir and Qadir Shah, leading their respective groups, struggled to forge an alliance, which consequently led other groups and influential engineers, including the Pakistan Engineers Forum (PEF) to rethink their positions in the elections.
Before the PEG-NEA alliance, Waseem Nazir’s negotiating team was in talks with PEF for jointly contesting elections, while Qadir Shah and his team were on the verge of closing doors on Jawed Salim Qureshi’s The Engineers Pakistan (TEP). However, TEP’s core committee did not approve of picking Qadir Shah as the joint candidate for the chairman’s post.
Interestingly, despite the majority belief within Qadir Shah’s group that Shah cannot win the election as chairman independently, they are supporting a non-NEA leader for the chairman of the council once again. Before supporting Waseem Nazir, Qadir Shah’s group had agreed to back Najeeb Haroon as chairman, aligning with the Constructors Association of Pakistan (CAP) and personalities like Dr. Niaz Akhtar. Equally interesting is the fact that both Najeeb Haroon and Waseem Nazir hail from PEG.
NEA had opened talks with Jawed Salim Qureshi who, according to Shah’s engineers, had agreed to throw his weight behind Shah for the top slot but stepped back later. Behind-the-scenes discussions apart, prospects of the Shah-Qureshi alliance had sparked widespread discussions in the engineering fraternity, much like the talk after Shah’s alliance with Waseem Nazir. After an unsuccessful attempt with Jawed Salim Qureshi, Shah’s group found itself in a challenging situation and apparently had two options. ‘One, Shah should fight alone and lose the elections; and two, he should stand behind Najeeb yet again and lose,’ says one of his close associates. He said Waseem Nazir was the best solution in the given circumstances for winning the elections.
The NEA-PEG alliance, a senior TEP engineer says, will force Jawed Salim Qureshi to work hard and lure more and more engineers for support. Although Punjab would be the real battleground, the group has to seriously look into issues in Sindh—the second-largest province of Pakistan—where TEP has to face the Qadir Shah group now with Waseem Nazir.
Before falling for Waseem Nazir, NEA had some solid and some wavering support for Najeeb Haroon, who had hopes that his erstwhile allies would back him for the second tenure. ‘It was Qadir Shah who refused in point blank to stand alongside Najeeb,’ revealed an NEA leader.
Najeeb Haroon, the incumbent chairman of the council, is faced with a challenge to cobble together remaining groups and personalities for shaping a coalition that could be as influential as TEP and NEA. He is looking towards Ashfaq Shah, PEF, estranged associates of Waseem Nazir, and influential engineers, attempting to forge a kind of arrangement. Among them, any alliance with Ashfaq Shah may be a distant possibility for Najeeb Haroon, as Shah is reportedly adamant about his stance on the chairman’s post.
The PEG-NEA alliance has not only affected Najeeb Haroon’s calculations; PEF also has to rethink their strategy as the group was reportedly in advanced talks with the PEG team. They must be reevaluating the situation and weighing their options: supporting Najeeb Haroon, Ashfaq Shah, or going alone. In the 2021 elections, PEF was part of the National Engineers Alliance but withdrew at the last minute, claiming betrayal over seat allocations in the governing body. PEF leaders assert they had signed an agreement with Najeeb Haroon, which he did not honor.
Now, with Najeeb Haroon being one of three options, PEF must make a decision in the coming days. Whether they will be able to make a significant impact remains to be seen, as PEF may not support Ashfaq Shah, being a smaller group for the chairman’s post.
This week’s update: Engr. Waseem Nazir, leading the Professional Excellence Group (PEG), and Engr. Qadir Shah, leading the National Engineers Association (NEA), have decided to jointly contest the PEC Elections 2024 scheduled for August 18. The new alliance has announced that Engr. Nazir will be the coalition’s candidate for the post of Chairman, and Engr. Raghib Shah for Senior Vice Chairman.
The top leadership of PEG and NEA met in Karachi to forge an alliance for the upcoming Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) Elections 2024, as stated in today’s NEA press release. Recognizing the importance of unity over individual ambitions, NEA and PEG have decided to merge their efforts and contest the elections under the unified banner of PEG-NEA.
The press release reads: “This collaboration combines the wealth of local experience with the innovative perspectives of global thought leaders. Together, they aim to transform PEC into a dynamic, forward-looking organization that meets international benchmarks and standards.” Engr. Waseem Nazir has been nominated as the joint candidate for Chairman, while Engr. Raghib Abbas Shah will stand for Senior Vice Chairman. Candidates for the remaining positions of vice chairmen of all provinces and members will be announced shortly.