Irrespective of its largest-ever size, it is a pleasant fact that the Federal Cabinet comprises the highest number of qualified and professional members in the history of Pakistan.
There are as many as five professional engineers, for instance, who have assumed the offices of federal minister/minister of state, and they all are allocated the portfolios related to technical fields a phenomenon rarely seen in our country.
The list includes Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Amanullah Khan Jadoon, who holds a B.Sc. Engg degree from Indiana Institute of Technology, USA. Ministers of State are Engineers Amir Muqam (Water and Power), a graduate engineer from the University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Muhammad Shahid Jamil Qureshi (Communications) and Muhammad Ishaq Khakwani (Railways), both holding B.Sc. Engg degree from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. Also, Minister of State for Environment Malik Amin Aslam Khan is a graduate engineer and also holds M.Sc degree in Environment Management from Oxford.
Similarly, Dr Salman Shah, Adviser to the PM on Finance is a graduate engineer from the UET, Lahore, and also holds Ph. D in Economics. Sardar Muhammad Yaqub, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, has obtained M. Sc. Engg. degree from the University of Balochistan.
Let us hope that these professional engineers would emulate the economic achievements of the People's Republic of China where engineers have largely served in the government as President, Prime Minister and many as ministers.
It is expected that they would sincerely work for the betterment of the masses and the nation, in the not too distant future.