Pakistan Tanners Association Names Muhammad Azam Chairman for the 2026–2028 Term

The Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA), the central representative body for the country’s leather tanning and processing industry, has elected Muhammad Azam of Royal Leather Industries Ltd. in Lahore as its Chairman for the 2026–2028 term. The appointment, announced this week, places a seasoned industry figure at the helm of an association whose members sit at the very front of Pakistan’s leather value chain — the tanners who turn raw hides into the finished material that feeds footwear, garments, and leather goods exporters worldwide.

Azam will be supported by a newly elected leadership team. Muhammad Shafi of Mateen Brothers, Karachi, was named Senior Vice Chairman, while Muhammad Mehr Ali of KTM Leather (Pvt) Ltd. in Multan takes the role of Vice Chairman. Alongside the office bearers, the PTA confirmed a refreshed Central Executive Committee drawing representatives from leather companies and allied businesses across the country’s main tanning centres — Karachi, Kasur, Sialkot, Multan, and Lahore among them.

The committee itself reads like a map of the industry’s geography. Its members include Abrar Ahmed of Mahmood Brothers (Karachi); Ejaz Ahmed Sheikh of Bombal Leather (Karachi); Farid Ahmed of Leather Village (Sialkot); Irfan Iqbal of Nova Leathers Pvt Ltd. (Karachi); Muhammad Ishfaq of Riaz Tanneries (Kasur); Shoukat Ali of Rasheed Ahmed & Sons (Karachi); and Tahir of Tauheed International Pvt Ltd. (Lahore). Also named are Tanweer Aslam Chawla of Chawla Tanneries (Kasur); Shaikh Saqib Saeed Masood of Khas Industries Pvt Ltd. (Karachi); Farooq Ahmed Shaikh of Madina Oasis (Karachi); Muhammad Saifullah Tahir of A M Chemical Traders (Sahiwal); Zahid Anwer of Perfect Gloves Manufacturers (Karachi); and Sheikh Muhammad Shafi of Pan Asia International (Lahore).

The breadth of that list matters. Pakistan’s tanning cluster is not concentrated in one city but spread across regional hubs, each with its own specialisms, labour pools, and environmental constraints. An association that genuinely represents Karachi’s export-oriented tanneries and Kasur’s dense processing belt alike is better placed to speak with one voice on the issues that cut across all of them: environmental compliance, energy costs, raw-material supply, and access to export markets.

The new leadership takes office at a delicate moment. Pakistan’s leather sector remains a significant foreign-exchange earner, but it faces a familiar cluster of pressures — volatility in the supply and price of raw hides, competition from neighbouring producers, tightening environmental standards in key buyer markets, and the slow global shift toward traceable, responsibly sourced leather. Tanneries, positioned between livestock farmers upstream and brands downstream, feel those pressures first and must absorb or pass them on.

There is also the question of value addition. For years, Pakistani stakeholders have argued the industry should capture more of the margin by exporting finished leather and leather products rather than lower-value intermediates. A central association with credible, broadly based leadership is the natural vehicle for pushing that agenda — coordinating on standards, supporting members through compliance transitions, and representing the sector in dialogue with government and buyers.

The 2026–2028 term will be judged less on the ceremony of election than on execution: how effectively the PTA helps its members navigate environmental and cost pressures, how well it advocates for the cluster in trade policy, and whether it can keep the country’s tanning base competitive as global buyers tighten their sourcing criteria. With a leadership team drawn from across the major hubs, Azam inherits both the mandate and the geographic reach to attempt exactly that.

Source: Leather News (leathernews.org) — “Pakistan Tanners Association Elects Muhammad Azam as Chairman and Other Office Bearers for 2026-2028” (Oct 9, 2026).