HARIPUR: The persistent challenges faced by engineers in Pakistan and the overall decline of the engineering sector stem primarily from corruption and inefficiency within the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), claimed engineer Asad Khan Alizai, president Pakistan engineers forum for Hazara division, through a press statement here on Saturday.

He said that over the last 20 years, every PEC chairman had made hollow promises and shown false hopes to engineers as none took any practical measures for the progress of the engineering community.

“Consequently, the field of engineering is now facing a serious crisis—engineering colleges and universities are witnessing a sharp decline in admissions, while the country’s youth increasingly opts for other disciplines,” he lamented.

He said that unemployment among engineers had reached alarming levels, forcing many to work for extremely low wages while the PEC officials, chairmen and executive members hold meetings in luxurious seven-star hotels and claim hundreds of thousands of rupees as TA/DA. Engineer Asad Khan emphasised that existing laws must be strictly enforced and new regulations should be introduced where necessary to check alleged malpractices.

“These laws should ensure that contractors and consultants are legally bound to hire engineers in accordance with their category and pay them the same salaries that are billed to the government,” he said, disclosing that currently engineers are often listed on papers but not actually employed—a malpractice that continues due to the deliberate silence or negligence of both PEC and government departments.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2025