Engr. M. Arif Sheikh, a seasoned professional with over three decades of experience, is running for Chairman of the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), With a career that began as Lecturer UET Lahore then joined Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) Punjab. Then started job at National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) as Civil Engineer. Engr. Muhammad Arif Sheikh spent 10 years gaining invaluable experience before founding his engineering companies i.e M/s Maccon and Master Consulting Engineers Private Ltd. His extensive background in both public and private sectors drives his commitment to bring substantial reforms to PEC. Running under the banner of “The Quaid Engineers Pakistan,” Engr Muhammad Arif Sheikh’s campaign focuses on reinforcing PEC’s regulatory role, addressing the oversupply of engineers, and ensuring leading positions to be held by qualified professionals. “PEC must act as a strong regulatory body to maintain standards and integrity in all engineering projects,” he stated during a recent interview with Engineering Post. “Major projects like the Kalabagh Dam should be depoliticized and vetted and approved by PEC.” One of the primary issues Engr Arif aims to tackle the oversupply of engineers and the substandard quality of education. “We need to halt the accreditation of new universities until existing ones meet required standards,” he explains. “This will help to align the number of graduates with market demand and improve the employability of our engineers.” Engr. Arif is also committed to supporting young and unemployed engineers. His manifesto includes initiatives to provide financial support to these individuals. “Engineering universities should provide a stipend of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees Ten thousand) to their graduates until they secure employment,” he says. “PEC will also provide Rs 10 thousand to unemployed engineers every month until they can secure employment.” Secondly he also aims to get approval for the service structure on immediate basis. Another significant focus of his campaign is the leadership of engineering bodies. Currently, many positions are held by CSP officers who lack engineering backgrounds. Engr. Arif argues, “Leading positions in organizations like the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Capital Development Authority (CDA) should be reserved for qualified engineers to ensure informed decision-making and effective governance.” Representation for female engineers is another crucial aspect of his campaign. “Female engineers must have a voice and be actively involved in decision-making processes within PEC,” Engr. Arif emphasizes. “We plan to reserve posts for women and encourage their participation to create a more inclusive and diverse environment.” Depoliticizing PEC is essential for its effective functioning, according to Engr. Arif Sheikh. “We need to ensure PEC remains independent and focused on its regulatory role without external political influences,” he stresses. “Past chairmen with political ambitions often use their positions for personal gain, which must be avoided.” He also stressed that a sitting chairman should not be allowed to play any part in campaigning for the election “This is one of the many flaws that we wish to overcome once we are elected,” he said Engaging young engineers and involving them in PEC’s activities is also our priority. “Young engineers are the future of our profession,” he notes. “We plan to fix posts specifically for young engineers within PEC and work closely with student unions to ensure their voices are heard. In fact many of our contestants are past presidents of their university student unions,” he revealed. During the conversation he revealed that his group envisions limiting the age of Chairman PEC to 60 years max.
