What engineers expect from new govt

Notwithstanding affiliations, the political change in Islamabad means a lot for engineers and their majority across Pakistan seems to have attached expectations from the new government led by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
There are three major reasons which lead engineers to believe that there would be a kind of improvement in the engineering industry and the issues concerning the engineering community in Pakistan.
On top is the appointment of the premier whose track record viz-a-viz development in Punjab speaks volumes about his success. He leads development initiatives and possesses credibility in the eyes of donors and governments across the world. Thus the engineers hope the development activity would get impetus in the country and in return the engineers will have more employment opportunities.
But more important is the fact that the engineering institutions and thus the engineers will have a much bigger advantage in terms of access to the people in corridors of power. It will facilitate the process to bring in light the major issues of engineers and industry in Pakistan.
The second reason will be Ahsan Iqbal as head of Planning and Development. Iqbal, an engineer by education has been part of the whole range of engineering activity in Pakistan and his role in Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) and other institutions is no secret. Interestingly enough, the issue of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) which has created a lot of rumpus between engineers through PEC and contractors led by Arshad Dad is now on his table.
Lastly, since Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is the coalition partner in the government, Engr. Mukhtiar Shaikh and Engr Qadir Shah leading National Engineers—the coalition partners of PEC Chairman Najeeb Haroon—will have better access too. It is likely that all three groups such as National Engineers, Engr. Najeeb Haroon and the Engineers Pakistan led by former PEC Chairman Engr. Jawed Salim may coordinate on issues concerning engineers and industry in the country.
There are several issues that need to be taken seriously. For instance, the new government should attach priority to the engineering industry for import substitution and this has to be reflected at the policy level.
PEC and other engineering institutions have a huge role in this respect and they are supposed to play it in real terms through their inputs and active lobbying and advocacy initiatives.
Engineering departments in the center and provincial governments need to be led by engineers, not by bureaucrats. The engineering community has to make efforts to convince the governments as they may have a conducive atmosphere for its supporters in the new government.Also, the issues relating to service structure for engineers and employment for fresh engineers should be pursued, as they were part of the manifestos of all engineering groups which contest PEC elections.n