STAFF REPORT LHR: Lack of political will to address energy, water and food shortages is a cause for concern provided that the countrys population is expected to double in 25 years.
“Engineers are not political decision-makers and people making decisions are often unaware of technical issues,” said Dr Bernard Amadei, the United States science envoy, while talking to the media here.
He added that if the problems were merely technical they would have been solved by now.
He said that he wanted to understand the progress being made in these areas in Pakistan as well so that the two countries could work together.
“In the next two decades, Pakistan will have another 190 million people to feed. How does it plan to feed them?” he said.
He added that Pakistan will also have to look not just into the issues of energy and food but also shelter, water sanitation and transport.
“Here is where the role of engineering becomes both more critical and relevant. The challenge for engineering, in Pakistan, will be to focus on creating and training young people who can tackle the problems,” he said.
He said many issues in Pakistan were not limited to the country but crossed borders, for which engineers needed to be more than providers of technical solutions. They should also have an understanding of community needs.