The Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts & Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) has elected Usman Malik as its new Chairman, while Shehryar Qadir and Shuja-ul-Haq have been elected as Senior Vice Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively during an Annual General Meeting (AGM) held here at a local hotel. The other executive committee members who were elected in the AGM included Abdur Razzaq Gauhar, Javed Hafiz, Muhammad Ashraf, Salman Saleem, Hafiz Jawad Anwar, Usman Yousaf, Usama Usman, Wajihuddin Siddiqui, Akber Allana, Syed Sarfaraz Ali, Farhan Hanif, Sajjad Nawaz and Abdul Rehman. The new leadership is expected to spearhead several key initiatives to strengthen the local automotive manufacturing sector and foster deeper collaboration across the industry. While addressing the PAAPAM at the occasion, which was attended by a large number of auto parts manufacturers across the country, the PAAPAM newly-elected chairman thanked the members for reposing confidence in him to lead the auto parts vendors’ community. Usman Malik said that he would strive to emulate the integrity, vision, and leadership of the past leadership, as the PAAPAM served about 300 members and affiliated its member enterprises through active business network services to promote economic vitality by helping to create a vibrant climate to support business growth. He appreciated the efforts of his predecessors and expressed wanting to continue the policies to further the auto parts industry and enhance the industry to other engineering goods. The other office-bearers, on this occasion, also vowed to promote the Association to new heights and paid tribute to the outgoing leadership and said that the outgoing body had been actively promoting the interests of the auto parts industry throughout the tenure. They said that the high cost of doing business, market access issues, and exchange rate are hindering Pakistan’s industrial growth, and the government would have to work on it in consultation with the stakeholders to resolve the problems. They added that the industry is facing challenges due to frequent and skyrocketing increases of all inputs, devaluation of the rupee, shrinking profits, and limited cash flow of vendors owing to higher demand at lower profitability.