IHC bars PEC chairman from appointing new registrar

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday barred Chairman of the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) from appointing a new registrar, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

A single-judge bench of Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro heard a petition filed by Engineer Khadim Hussain Bhatti, one of the senior additional registrars serving the institution, through Barrister Umer Ijaz Gilani, against the appointment of the PEC’s new Registrar.

The petitioner stated that Pakistan Engineering Council published an advertisement for the appointment of a new Registrar on August 23, 2026. 

The petitioner contended that the PEC Service Rules explicitly prescribe that in case of the presence of senior additional registrars, such as the petitioner himself, it is the senior additional registrars who must be considered for promotion, and only if they are considered unfit for promotion, can the PEC resort to making an appointment through initial appointment from the general public.

The petitioner also submitted that the PEC, which is the representative body of over 200,000 engineers of Pakistan, is structured along democratic lines. Therefore, the PEC Act vests plenary administrative powers in the 66-member Governing Body, which includes representatives of engineers. 

Under the PEC byelaws, it is the Governing Body and not the Chairman who is vested with the power to appoint the Registrar. 

However, the incumbent Chairman, for various reasons, has decided to bypass the Governing Body.

The petitioner also submitted that more than 20 members of the Governing Body have already moved a resolution against the incumbent Chairman’s usurpation of the Governing Body’s jurisdiction.

The bench, after hearing the arguments, issued an interim order restraining the Chairman of the PEC from making a final appointment and adjourned the hearing of the case till September 29, 2026.

Reporter: Ehtesham Kiyani