SARIC Rising Tide

40 COURAGE AND THE ENGINEER N I DA MUKH TAR PA K I S TAN 41 courage and the engineer C ourage is a sporty spirit fostered by a military father, and honed by hikes through the Margala hills near Islamabad. Nida Mukhtar reminisces on moving around the country in pace with her father’s career. “We moved every two years because of being in the army, and he really is my inspiration. Our life has taken us from rural Sindh, to Sialkot, Quetta, and Rawalpindi. I remember playing outside in city lanes and always having to stop when the power went out in the evening. I didn’t understand why, but I knew I wanted to help fix the problem. Nida’s father, a mechanical engineer, would also play a key role in shaping her curiosity about how things worked. Later, he would help her select electrical engineering as a career. She graduated with honors from her engineering institute, after having served as president of the women’s engineering society on campus. Her first job as a field engineer at a thermal power plant would startle her parents because, at the time, Nida was the only woman on site. Courage and a determination drawn from her youth would carry her through the next two years—winning her wide acceptance. Both those qualities would also shape her visibility at a national level at Nida’s next job with the Central Power Purchasing Agency in Islamabad. “It was a challenge, and a great win,” laughs Nida. “A male colleague and myself were tasked with creating a new department, one that would develop the ecosystem for a competitive power market in Pakistan. At that time it was a monopoly, and the idea of opening up the market was a new concept for the country.” Against all odds, they would collaborate with stakeholders and negotiate their requirements before developing a platform that is earning recognition and praise from ministry and industry as it prepares for launch. Today, the department has expanded to 25—proof of their continuing growth, and ability to deliver results.