Auto production in jeopardy after Islamabad blaze

E-Paper | April 27, 2026

ISLAMABAD: A view of the wreckage at the EDB office after a fire at Awami Markaz. According to Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers, the board is retrieving the lost data.

KARACHI: Stakeholders in the auto sector said on Saturday the fire that gutted the Engineering Development Board (EDB) office in Islamabad on Sept 10 may hamper auto production.

Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (Pama) Director General Abdul Waheed Khan said the deadline for the uploading of data for the importable auto parts in the system – normally referred to as quota – is Sept 30. There will be a complete industrial closure in the country if data is not uploaded by then, he added.

The current ‘provisional’ quota for some models is not sufficient, he said, adding that it needs to be increased immediately to facilitate imports in a timely manner. Similarly, all manufacturing certificates, issued by the EDB, will also expire on Sept 30. These certificates need revalidation before Sept 30, he said.

Also, approval for new products pending with the EDB must be expedited to avoid unnecessary delays, he said.

The EDB, which operates under the Ministry of Industries and Production, is bogged down in handling the post-fire situation. “The government should issue an interim order whereby all manufacturing certificates and quotas expiring on Sept 30 are extended to Dec 31,” he added.

Already allocated quotas are not sufficient because all players in the automobile sector are growing. Thus, the quarterly quota should be increased to include the remaining 75 per cent meant for the year, subject to the verification of actual production, he said. Similarly, held-up approval for new products should be readily granted to minimise losses to the economy, he added.

Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (Paapam) Chairman Mashood Ali Khan said he visited the burned-down EDB office a few days back and also met ministry officials. He said the EDB team is currently working out of a makeshift office in the basement of the Planning Commission, which is a small place with limited resources.

The chairman said the EDB team is committed to retrieving data and getting the office back in order as early as possible. The EDB has assured Paapam that the Input Output Ratio Certificate quota will be uploaded by Sept 30.

He said he has already requested members of the association to start compiling their previous correspondence with the EDB.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2017

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Aamir Shafaat Khan is a Karachi-based reporter for Dawn with over 25 years of experience. He covers trade and industry, with a particular focus on market surveys, food inflation, commodity prices, the automobile sector and broader industrial issues.

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izharulhaqadeeb

Sep 17, 2017 10:04am

Was this building insured ? Is there a new entrant ? Can this department make money from the makers ?

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Sarkar

Sep 17, 2017 10:47am

Who is the prime beneficiary of setting fires to destroy data?

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Mango man

Sep 17, 2017 11:27am

Talk to any competent IT professional in any MNC and he or she will tell you the significance of "Off-site data protection" or "vaulting" and how it is critical for business continuity. In this case, I am not even sure if there was a system of on-site data backup let alone an offsite one or of any data insurance. Tragedies like fires and natural disasters cannot be predicted and need to be managed. The best practice followed by industries is to back up business critical data to off-site centers, even off-country centers. In this case, what was stopping a data center creation in all the regions so that government business critical data can be backed up there regularly so that the concerned department can spring back into action quickly and overcome unforeseen setbacks. Yes it will entail a regular cost, but look at it as insurance premium, during disasters, it will pay back its cost many times over, by helping business continuity.

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alba

Sep 17, 2017 11:38am

The Engineering Development Board. Why does Pakistan even need one?

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Ayub

Sep 17, 2017 01:04pm

Pakistan steel in Karachi the backbone of industry has been destroyed by our politicians whenever they were in power now the EDB relating to industry had fallen down in political government finally China business will prosper.

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M.Saeed

Sep 17, 2017 02:06pm

Backup of every critical data is maintained in separate storages for protection against such eventualities. There should be no loss if rules had been followed.

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Sep 17, 2017 03:34pm

Per good practice of IT service continuity, data should be backed up and stored in 3 different geographical locations.

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CH. K. A. Nye

Sep 17, 2017 05:06pm

@alba... Because our Governments continue to live in some imaginary state of mind that allowing a few companies to assemble vehicles is going to improve the way standard of engineering in the country. This is after signing free trade agreements with Export powerhouses who have all but shut down our manufacturing industry.

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khanm

Sep 17, 2017 05:17pm

In this day and age, we still keep the records only as in hard copies..... wow !!! no wonder why it makes it so easier to destroy the entire records...besides it has not happened for the first time. I guess the lack of punishment and lawlessness is the main culprit. Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that lawlessness,coruption, are a serious matter the country is going through. Time to know yourself. Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that we are wonderful....

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Ch beg mulla

Sep 17, 2017 07:57pm

Data was deliberately kept in hard copies, so that cheap chinese tax free parts can flood market. Win win for customers though

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Vikas

Sep 17, 2017 11:13pm

What is Engineering Development Board? And what and why is something like Import Quota? What kind of economics is this? Weird.

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Spells of think-tank

Sep 18, 2017 02:39am

@Ayub .Absolutely. All state owned enterprises like Steel Mills, PIAC, made extractive institutions instead inclusive. Hence corruption and loot, which not even let breathing space for such enterprises. Hence these enterprises are drowning gradually, and vulgars still waiting to eat the dead .

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