Dr Aliya Hashmi Khan is a Retired Professor of Economics and former Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. She holds a PhD in Economics from University of Illinois, Chicago. She is currently a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC) and a member of the Labor Expert Group (LEG) under the “Ehsaas” Social Protection Program of the Government of Pakistan. She has served as an Independent Member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), as an Independent Director on the Board of State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLIC) and as Central Labor Advisor at the Federal Ministry of Labor, Manpower & Overseas Pakistanis. She is currently serving on the Board of National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF), State Bank of Pakistan, on the Board of Governors of Aurat Foundation and on the Syndicate of Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi. She is associated in an advisory capacity as a Macro Economist and Labor Economist with various committees of the Planning Commission of Pakistan and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) as well as with international organizations including International Labor Organization (ILO), UNDP, UN Women, World Bank & ADB. She has represented Pakistan in an Asian regional project on “Women and the Future of Work in Asia” implemented by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Asia Office in Singapore.
She was awarded the President’s Medal – Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah 2010 in the category of Higher Education. The citation reads “In recognition of services rendered for economic empowerment of women by way of teaching and research”
Mutee ul Rehman is Head of policy research and Chief Technical Advisor at Capacity Analytics. He is an economist with focus on regional and development planning. He has experience of public and development sector organizations within the 13 years of his professional career.
Previously, he has served leading international organizations, think tanks, academia and public sector organizations. He has worked on many development projects by the World Bank, USAID, DFID & GIZ and many national donors.
He is pursuing PhD in Economics from Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, where he also teaches as visiting faculty.
He primary areas of research are social protection, labor markets, employment, industries & domestic commerce, WASH and spatial planning. His core competencies include Econometric Modelling, Regional/Spatial Planning & Training and Capacity Building.
Mutee is also member of core management team of various research and consultancy firms where he provides inputs for project planning, management and research.
Tayaba Batool is an economist and entrepreneurial international trade and finance professional with 18 years of progressive past experience. She has extensive background in policy analysis, long term strategic planning (including spatial planning), evidence based decision making, research and analysis, policy formulation.
Besides strategy and policy making, she has good experience of project management, progress review, coordination and business development with national and sub-national governments. Her recent experience with Government of Pakistan includes working with Federal Board of Revenue on Market Monitoring and Intervention on MP-I scale. Earlier she worked at Planning Commission, Cabinet Division and Ministry of Commerce. She worked with Government of Punjab for The Urban Unit, Planning and Development Department.
She has also been working with international organizations including World Bank, USAID, DAI, Commonwealth Secretariat & UNDP and private enterprises. And has been participating in many national and international conferences/ policy round tables/ seminars and represented Pakistan at different forums.
She is an active philanthropist as well. Recently she volunteered her services to establishing Social Protection Resource Centre (SPRC) and Pakistan Alliance for Social Protection (PASP) for promoting the cause of social protection in the larger public interest.
Mr. Muhammad Shafique is a seasoned professional in the field of Infographics and Data Visualization. He has over seven years of experience of manipulating complex and boring data sets into beautiful and eye-catching infographics and data visualization.
He possesses professional knowledge of creation and maintenance visual reports/infographics as well as providing an advisory and support role to the business to ensure the most accessible presentation of information. He specializes in developing innovative and appealing static and interactive data visualizations for external uses such as websites, annual and quarterly reports and reports to other stakeholders.
He has worked with several national and international organization i.e., World Bank, USAID, UNFCCC UKAID, UNDP, Australian Aid, CDKN, European Union, WaterAid, Oxfam, Lead Pakistan etc.
Mr. Haroon Qidwai is a CFA level 3 candidate with over 12 years of professional experience primarily in Corporate Finance, Public Debt, Risk, Treasury Management and Capital Markets. As consultant with Asian Development Bank he provides advisory on Debt Capital Markets, Corporate Finance & Investment Management to the Ministry of Finance.
Mr. Qidwai is a professional Bloomberg trainer & expert who has provided technical advisory on both external and domestic loans. A Dealer Money Market & FX at Treasury & Capital Market Group, NBP with vast experience of dealing with interest rates, exchange rate & OTC derivatives instruments (Swaps, Forwards & Options).
Mehdi Bokhari is a seasoned GIS & Information Management Professional with an MBA (IT) & MSc (CS) and 20+ years of progressive experience in 3 continents including Asia, Africa, and North America. He specializes in assisting public, private, and humanitarian organizations in enhancing their disaster mitigation and development initiatives through spatially enabled decision-making tools. He has exceptional communication, presentation, proposal writing, and program management skills. Furthermore, he has been involved in philanthropic fundraising, policy-level dialogues, and capacity building at the grass-roots level.
Mehdi has worked in a range of sectors including Multi-sectoral Information Management, Vulnerability Mapping & Analysis, Needs Assessment, Food Security, Logistics, Transportation, Community Development, Urban Planning, Energy, Education, Health, Climate Change, Election, and issues related to digital divide among communities. Some of the organization he worked for includes USAID, USDOT, FHWA, UNDP, UNOPS, UNICEF, WFP, GIZ, SDC, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, British Columbia Ministry of Forests & Natural Resources, Saudi Aramco, Qatar Petroleum, and Municipalities of Baghdad, Dammam, and Doha. He has proven ability to review and manage large projects, across a broad spectrum of geographically distributed teams and services, creating value for all stakeholders. Mehdi’s extensive emergency and international development exposure and hi-tech solutions implementation background enables him to analyze the humanitarian response and make collaborative contributions to reducing human suffering and saving lives promptly.
Muzammal Afzal is a researcher and M.Phil Economics graduate from Applied Economics Research Center Karachi, with a special focus on political economy, social welfare and development. He has more than five years of research experience in areas of economic development, political economy, education, good governance, parliamentary reforms and youth & community development. He has experience of working with national/international development organizations and public policy think tanks.
Mr. Naeem Ahmad is a competent development practitioner and carries over a decade of experience working for different national and international organizations. He is a diligent committed M&E professional with a spirit of team play. Having a background in demography, research and data analysis, he has been working with different organizations in setting up M&E Systems. Currently he is managing National Poverty Census being carried out by Ehsaas Programme at BISP with a leading role in Coordination and Training.
Mr. Ahmad has worked on various evaluation studies including evaluation of DFID funded Ilm-2 project interventions of seven different grantees. He has also completed Annual Survey on Out of School Children (OOSC) for KESP. He had been engaged in information management and compilation Pakistan Emergency Situational Analysis (PESA), Pakistan Development Perspective (PDP), MINI district profiles for response and relief activities carried out by humanitarian community in Pakistan, and flood and earthquake atlases. His area of expertise includes management of surveys, research, monitoring & evaluation, development of Data Quality Control Framework, proposal writing, data analysis (regression modeling, association of variables and significance tests), data mining, information and knowledge management and capacity building.
Shoaib Kahut is a student of economics with focus on regional economics and sustainable development. He has experience of public and private sector organizations within the five years of his professional career. Previously, he has served government of Pakistan, in the capacity of young development fellow at Planning Commission. In private sector, he has worked both in Islamabad and Karachi for different organizations advocating for youth rights development. Shoaib has also been the part of Global shapers-youth hub of World Economic Forum. Currently, He is pursuing PhD in Economics from Shandong University China. His primary areas of research are Belt and Road initiative, sustainable development, environmental economics and western economics. He has published two research papers in international SCI journals. His core competencies include Economic research and Data Analysis.
Mr. Umar Farooq brings more than 12 years of experience in project management, strategic planning, M&E, and public policy research. He is highly skilled in development communications and analytical writing and has hands on experience in implementing complex development programmes in coordination with government institutions. Mr. Farooq has extensive experience in conducting policy dialogues with government departments, drafting policy briefs concerning public policy issues, and developing policy papers on socio-economic issues.
Additionally, Umar Farooq has completed his Master’s Degree in International Trade and Development as a Fulbright Scholar from Eastern Michigan University, United States in 2012. He also attended Harvard University Summer School, United States to pursue a special course on Economic Development in India and East Asia. On research front, he worked with SDPI-an Islamabad based research institution, as a research consultant and was part of the team that developed three international quality research papers on public policy and political economy of research together with Arif Naveed and Doctor Jeff Woods AcSS, Professor Emeritus University of Bath, UK.
Ms. Roubina Taufiq Shah is a Commerce & Trade Officer with a vast experience in trade promotion, facilitation and training. She joined government service in 1981 as an officer of Chief Controller Imports & Exports and served in Ministry of Commerce and its various departments including Export Promotion Bureau, PITAD, TDAP and TDRO. She retired from 35 years of Government service as Director General, heading the Trade Dispute Resolution Organization (TDRO), Ministry of Commerce in July 2016. After her retirement she served as Director Administration, Finance & HR in Centre of Excellence, CPEC, a project of PIDE and Ministry of Planning Development & Reform till 1st June 2018.
Her most important experience has been as a Trade Promotion Officer. Ms. Shah was posted as Commercial Secretary Pakistan High Commission Dhaka where she served her country for 4 years. Ms. Shah has to her credit organizing some very important events and exhibitions like Date Shows Dhaka, DITF Dhaka, Pakistan participation in Batexpo Dhaka, Wetex Dhaka (an annual exhibition for women entrepreneurs). Moreover, she organized EPB (now TDAP) shows like Wexnet, Expo Pakistan Karachi, D-8 Exhibition & Conference Islamabad 2012.
Ms. Shah has been associated with the concept of promoting women entrepreneurs in Pakistan for the last 30 years. She pioneered the project of WEXNET (Women Exporters Network) a branded annual exhibition of TDAP in Pakistan for women entrepreneurs from year 2000. From 2010, her services have been utilized by USAID for training women entrepreneurs in trade related matters. In 2016, she was the main resource person for USAID Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA) which had an underlying objective of encouraging more women in Pakistan’s trade sector. Under this objective, the ‘Women Leadership in Trade Policy’ (WLTP) Program a series of roundtable discussions were held on the subject in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, under the supervision of Ms. Shah in 2017-18. In 2020 she provided inputs to ITC (Intracen) and World Bank for formulation of Report on Addressing Non-Tariff-Measures in Pakistan in general and hurdles in trade for women entrepreneurs in particular.
She graduated from Kinnaird College for Women Lahore in 1976 and did her M.Sc in Geography from Punjab University Lahore in 1979.
Ayesha tuz Zehrais serving Capacity Analytics as Research Analyst. She is a PhD (Econometrics) Research Scholar and focuses on econometric modeling & policy reforms. Her previous educational background in mathematics combined with economic knowledge helps her to create evidence-based policies.
Her areas of specialization include data collection, interpretation and analysis using econometric models, statistical techniques with the use of modern software techniques and designing surveys. She has designed various econometric models to quantify the social protection needs of the country. She is contributing to the research reports, working papers and development of indices for the organization.
Ms. Rizwana Ehsan Waraich is a practitioner with expertise in poverty, social, gender and M&E sector. She has sound experience in project development and management with focus on planning, monitoring, reporting, and coordination in international development organizations. She has experience of working in South-East Asian countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
She has been playing key role as Technical Expert of Agriculture for PODA Pakistan, a women’s rights NGO, since 2003. She is Board Member of The Lok Sangh Foundation Pakistan and plays a strategic role for people-centered development to reduce poverty, enhance food security through strengthening local democracy, empowering women and sustainable use of natural resources.
As a Gender Expert she has worked with Ernest and Young Pakistan for conducting study on Women Employment Trends in Urban Areas of Punjab Skills Development Funds (PSDF). She is Gender Expert with IUCN assignment for Strengthening Governance and Capacity for Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade in Pakistan. She is also a consultant with UN Women Pakistan on Gender and Climate Change. She has provided technical input regarding mainstreaming gender equality and protection concerns in the work of UN Cluster leads (WHO, WFP, FAO, UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM, UNDP), UNOCHA, NDMA and PDMAs.
She obtained her Bachelor Degree in Economics and Statics from Punjab University Lahore in 1981. Later she did a Master in English Literature from University if Punjab in 1991. She also obtained a Master in Business Administration (HRM) in 2006.
Mrs. Talat Rizwan is a results-driven practicing lawyer since 2010. She is an advocate of the High Court of Pakistan with an L.L.B. from University of Punjab. She has extensive experience in corporate, taxation, commercial banking, competition, labour and consumer matters. Presently, she is the Central Secretary Legal Affairs Women Wing for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). She is a very active civil society member and takes part in various matters of public interest. She has also established Talat Rizwan Foundation for Sustainable Development in Pakistan.
Lt. Col. Muhammad Iqbal (Retd.) is a veteran and a dynamic professional with multifaceted proven experience of 34 years in digital marketing. He has been actively providing advice on content strategy, inbound marketing, social media and SEO. He is expert in ensuring content impact, managing content, engaging audiences and expanding content’s outreach. He is abreast with the concepts of marketing in Digital World and can very well handle digital analytics and marketing analytics. He has specialisation in Advance Google Analytics.
Previously, he was the Director General Punjab at Benazir Income Support Program (BISP). As the pioneer team member of BISP, he streamlined its operations and established its field offices across Pakistan. He has extensive experience of working with teams from World Bank, Asian Development Bank, DFID, USAID and other development partners.
He has a Masters in International Relations from University of Karachi. He is also a Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP). Some of his other certifications include Content Strategy for Professionals from North-Western University USA, Digital Analytics for Marketing Professionals- Marketing Analytics in Theory and Practice from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign USA, Inbound Marketing Strategy from Hubspot and Search Engine Optimization from University of California, Davis, USA.
Dr. Zahid Asghar is the Director School of Economics at Quaid-i-Azam University and the Technical Expert of Capacity Analytics. He is an applied Econometrician and statistician with good command of social science data analysis, survey data and SDGs analysis aiming to play a role in having better awareness of development indicators in the society and to contribute to an evidence based decision making in socio-economic policy. Dr. Asghar is Urban and Development Economist and trainer for data visualization and data analysis.
Previously, he was Chairman Department of Statistics at Quaid-i-Azam University. He is Member of multiple Technical Committees at the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics including Price Indices, SDGs and National Account Committee. He has been Member Board of Faculty for International Institute of Islamic Economics and Riphah University. He remained Senate Member of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. He has published a number of research articles in National and International journals. And has been presenting his research around the world.
Dr. Asghar has a B.Sc. in Mathematics, Statistics and Physics from University of Punjab. He did his M.Sc. Statistics from Baha Uddin Zakaraya University and holds a PhD in Economics from Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
Munira Mansoor is serving Capacity Analytics as a Research Intern. She enjoys sifting through
information in order to discover and extract what is most important in each set of material and
endeavors to produce real world applications of her findings. With a keen interest in rural poverty
alleviation and poverty reduction, she aspires to apply quantitative and qualitative research methods to
produce beneficial data and discover new horizons for rural communities for their socio-economic uplift.
In this regard she has previously interned with international rural development organizations like
International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD)’s project ‘Economic Transformation Initiative’ for rural
communities in Gilgit-Baltistan and the Aga Khan Agricultural Programme.
Osama Asghar is serving Capacity Analytics as a Graphic Designer. Previously, he worked as a Graphic Designer at different development sector organizations. He has hands on experience in Graphic Designing. He possesses professional knowledge of creation and maintenance visual reports/infographics as well as providing an advisory and support role to the business to ensure the most accessible presentation of information. He specializes in developing innovative and appealing static and interactive data visualizations for external uses such as websites, annual and quarterly reports and reports to other stakeholders. His areas of expertise include designing of Reports, Infographics, Policy Briefs, Working Papers and Spatial data mapping & visualization with the help of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and ArcGIS. Besides the expertise in Graphic Designing and Data Visualization, Osama is pursuing Chinese Language studies from Tianjin University, China.
Muhammad Afaq Sadiq is serving Capacity Analytics as a Research Associate. He is currently doing his M.Phil. In econometrics from PIDE and holds a BS degree in Economics from Quaid-e-Azam University. His areas of interest include Data Analysis, Econometric modelling and Visualization. He has contributed in Research reports, Proposal Development and Data Analysis at Capacity Analytics.
Dr Peter Holmes is now a Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory (TPO), a Director of InterAnalysis and Reader in Economics at the University of Sussex.
He has also been a visitor at the University of British Columbia and a visiting professor at the College of Europe (Bruges and Warsaw) and in France.
His experience in consulting, research, training in the field of international trade policy and regional integration is highly sought after.
Peter is an expert on RTAs, EU and WTO issues including competition policy and dispute settlement, and technical barriers to trade as well as supervising and managing projects.
Peter Holmes did his BA and PhD in Economics at Cambridge University.
Dr. Chiu is a University Fellow at De La Salle University, and holds the Don Antonio Cojuangco Professorial Chair of Industrial Technology and Research Fellow A. He has advised post-graduate research works and published more than 200 papers, book chapters, and keynote documents in the field of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP), and Industrial Ecology / Eco-industrial Development (EID). He is a member of the United Nations International Resource Panel, and also serves as member of the international expert committee to the United Nations Green Industry Platform, wherein his UN publications cover training manuals, policy action plans and industrial policies in Asia Pacific. He is a Philippine delegate to the United Nations at Rio+20 Head of States Summit as well as in the CSD19, and Regional Executive of the RECPNet, with secretariat based in UNIDO and UNEP. He also served as member of the Philippine National Pollution Adjudication Board from 2003-2016. Dr. Chiu also serves several international research entities as President (APRSCP, ISBITM, APIEMS), Board Director (ISIE, IFPR), and editorial board member (JCLP, JPIIE, JCIIE, PIE) of international high-impact journals. He co-chairs the Philippine Industrial Engineering Certification Board. Professor Chiu is the first Philippine awardee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as outstanding international correspondent, and the second Philippine recipient of the ASEAN Engineer in the field of Industrial Engineering.
Dr. Sarfraz Ahmed Khan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology of Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad and is the technical expert of Capacity Analytics. He has more than 20 years of experience with research expertise on the issues related to international migration, gender, remittances, health and education. He is Member, Board of Studies for Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi and University of Okara. He is member of the Research Advisory Board of the Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) and Idusian Research Cell.
He has been advising Balochistan Rural Development and Community Empowerment Programme (BRACE) project which is funded by European Union and implemented by three implementing partners; RSPN, NRSP and BRSP in close collaboration with the Government of Balochistan. He has also been providing gender responsive evidence based research trainings. He was part of the technical review of qualitative research project report engaging men and boys to accelerate efforts to end gender-based violence in Pakistan. He has published a number of research articles in National and International journals.
Dr. Khan holds an M.A. in Sociology from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. He completed his M.Phil and PhD in Anthropology from Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. Some of his other certifications include Harvard Project of Asian and International Relations from Harvard University USA, Issue of “Save the Heritage of Pakistan” by UNESCO and Summer School entitled “Becoming Adult between the Local and Global-Educational and Private Biographies of Young Pakistani at Home and Abroad” at University of Wuppertal.
Major General Dr Ghulam Qamar, Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) was commissioned in an Infantry Regiment (8th Frontier Force) in June 1983. Apart from service at Siachin Glacier, commanded an Infantry Battalion along Line of Control and two Infantry Brigades, including one deployed in North Waziristan during counter terrorism operations. He Commanded an Infantry Division deployed in Swat, Dir and Chitral for counter terrorism operations. He served as Director General Doctrine & Evaluation (a think tank of the Army) at General Headquarter Rawalpindi. His last assignment was Director General Institute of Strategic Studies Research and Analysis at National Defence University, Islamabad. He remained instructor at Pakistan Military Academy, Command & Staff College Quetta and at the War College in National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad. He is a graduate of Command & Staff College Quetta, National Defence University Islamabad and Beijing (China). Apart from this, he served under the Umbrella of UN peace keeping Mission in Somalia (UNOSOM-II). He has represented Pakistan Army at various International Forums and delivered lectures/participated in seminars on Sub Conventional Warfare, Strategic issues related to radicalization and deradicalisation. He is also the author of Sub Conventional Warfare Doctrine for Pakistan Army. His Qualifications include, Masters in Art and Science of Warfare, Masters in Defence Studies and Masters in Defence and Strategic Studies. He did PhD from Cranfield University, UK in 2021. Having visited 43 countries around the globe has vast knowledge of international relations. He is an avid reader and a keen Golfer. He is presently DG Religious Education in Ministry of Education.
Talha Mannan is a Computer Scientist with solid knowledge of JavaScript frameworks. As an Associate at
Capacity Analytics, he has been handling Capacity Analytics’ website for more than a year and has
progressed immensely. His dedication to implementing innovative ideas into his work has made him the
best at his work. Being a Computer Science Graduate from Pakistan's top university, he has hands on
expertise in Computer Networking. His core skills also include the role of SAP Architect. Also, managing,
evaluating, and integrating solutions regarding business requirements is his keen focus.
Previously, he participated in the project for the Punjab Safe City program and polished his networking
skills by utilizing Wireshark, NetFlow, OP Manager, and Nagios. During his graduation, he completed
various Networking and Machine Learning Projects including Bank Management System, Face Detection
Using Machine Learning Techniques, and I.T. based Car Parking system.
He is now pursuing his goals by adding value to the firm.
Sidra Qureshi is serving Capacity Analytics as a Research Analyst. Sidra covers economic and statistical analytical work and is responsible to compile, analyze, and report data to explain economic phenomena, applying mathematical models and statistical techniques. Sidra is among the lead research analysts on the team, supporting in formulation of recommendations, policy analysis, policies/plans to solve economic problems or to interpret markets. Her areas of specialization are economic analysis, trainings, smart economy, SDGs, Informal economy & labor markets and Social Protection. She is also working on urban planning and smart cities in consortium with Researchers from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Mineral (KFUPM).
Prior to her current role as a Research Analyst, Sidra has worked as a Researcher in the research and development sector with various organizations working collaboratively with internationally experienced professionals from UNICEF, World Bank and USAID. She holds a degree in Economics from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST).
Mr. Muhammad Nadeem Riaz is the Senior Manager Business Strategy and Development at Capacity Analytics. With a diverse background of experience in private and public sector, he has served Business Strategy and Project Management positions in aviation industry and investment facilitation organizations, including Board of Investment (BOI), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Flynas and SaudiGulf Airlines. Throughout his (16 years) of experience in aviation, travel & tourism and investment promotion, he has successfully developed and executed comprehensive strategies that have led to substantial market expansion, growth & development. He thrives on analyzing market trends, identifying growth opportunities, and devising innovative approaches to capture new audiences.
He did Bachelor’s degree in commerce & accounting, Later, he received his Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree. He also attained various certifications and trainings in Business & Strategy Development, Project Management and Data Analytics.
During his services in BOI, he managed investment portfolio of over $20 billion and Project Manager for SAARC and Middle East Regions. He was the focal point of contact for Federal and Provincial Government agencies, Foreign Missions in Pakistan, International Bodies (World Bank, Asian Development Bank), Chamber of Commerce and Trade Bodies and International Business Associations. He spearheaded various projects that increased business efficiency, growth and revenue for the companies. He has special skills in data analytics, preparation of business cases, data driven market reports, financial & technical feasibility studies and monitoring & evaluation of various aviation & investment projects. Identifying business opportunities, writing RFPs, negotiating contracts, project implementation & delivery and relationship management are the key factors of his working abilities.
During his current role as Senior Manager Business Strategy, he is managing mix portfolio of business development and project management, where he identifies projects, prepare RFP/RFQ/EOIs, develop proposals, make presentations to the clients/donors, negotiate TORs, prepare & finalize business contracts and complete projects within agreed timelines. In addition to this, he prepares project plans, execute & allocate tasks, analyze & review project performance in line with milestone plan, take corrective actions and ensure timely completion & delivery of projects.
Meher is currently serving as a Research Associate at Capacity Analytics. With a background in education, holding a bachelor's degree from the International Islamic University, and three years of prior work experience in a non-profit organization focused on social mobility projects, she brings a unique blend of skills and expertise to her role.
Her work is instrumental in securing new projects and client engagements. Additionally, she plays a central role in producing high-quality reports, skillfully synthesizing data, analyzing findings, and articulating insights clearly and concisely, ensuring clients receive actionable recommendations derived from comprehensive research.
She actively contributes to project management, assisting in planning, scheduling, and resource allocation to ensure projects progress efficiently and meet client satisfaction. Her comprehensive skill set and dedication significantly enhance the organization's ability to provide clients with data-driven solutions and valuable insights.
Ms. Afridi is currently serving as a Research Intern at Capacity Analytics. She holds a BS degree in Development Economics from Quaid-I-Azam University, demonstrating her strong foundation in economics. As a young graduate, she exhibits passion for data analytics, data visualization, and the intricacies of contributing to research frameworks.
She has made contributions to our team through her involvement in various research reports and data driven projects. Her commitment to understanding data at its core and extracting valuable insights showcases her dedication to advancing the field of research and analytics. She is currently working on the regulatory, competition and innovation landscape of the business climate in Pakistan.
Rafia is currently serving as a Research Intern at Capacity Analytics. She is a budding data analyst with a strong commitment to informing policy-making from an evidence -based perspective. Her interests encompass complexity, causality, and mixed methods research. She is dedicated to exploring solutions and devising policies tailored to the nuances of the local context. She has recently graduated from Quaid-I-Azam University with a degree in Economics.
Rafia is currently working around the themes of climate change and green jobs at Capacity Analytics.
Dr Aliya Hashmi Khan is a Retired Professor of Economics and former Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. She holds a PhD in Economics from University of Illinois, Chicago. She is currently a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC) and a member of the Labor Expert Group (LEG) under the “Ehsaas” Social Protection Program of the Government of Pakistan. She has served as an Independent Member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), as an Independent Director on the Board of State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLIC) and as Central Labor Advisor at the Federal Ministry of Labor, Manpower & Overseas Pakistanis. She is currently serving on the Board of National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF), State Bank of Pakistan, on the Board of Governors of Aurat Foundation and on the Syndicate of Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi. She is associated in an advisory capacity as a Macro Economist and Labor Economist with various committees of the Planning Commission of Pakistan and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) as well as with international organizations including International Labor Organization (ILO), UNDP, UN Women, World Bank & ADB. She has represented Pakistan in an Asian regional project on “Women and the Future of Work in Asia” implemented by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Asia Office in Singapore.
She was awarded the President’s Medal – Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah 2010 in the category of Higher Education. The citation reads “In recognition of services rendered for economic empowerment of women by way of teaching and research”
Dr Aliya Hashmi Khan is a Retired Professor of Economics and former Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. She holds a PhD in Economics from University of Illinois, Chicago. She is currently a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC) and a member of the Labor Expert Group (LEG) under the “Ehsaas” Social Protection Program of the Government of Pakistan. She has served as an Independent Member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), as an Independent Director on the Board of State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLIC) and as Central Labor Advisor at the Federal Ministry of Labor, Manpower & Overseas Pakistanis. She is currently serving on the Board of National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF), State Bank of Pakistan, on the Board of Governors of Aurat Foundation and on the Syndicate of Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi. She is associated in an advisory capacity as a Macro Economist and Labor Economist with various committees of the Planning Commission of Pakistan and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) as well as with international organizations including International Labor Organization (ILO), UNDP, UN Women, World Bank & ADB. She has represented Pakistan in an Asian regional project on “Women and the Future of Work in Asia” implemented by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Asia Office in Singapore.
She was awarded the President’s Medal – Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah 2010 in the category of Higher Education. The citation reads “In recognition of services rendered for economic empowerment of women by way of teaching and research”
Major General Dr Ghulam Qamar, Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) was commissioned in an Infantry Regiment (8th Frontier Force) in June 1983. Apart from service at Siachin Glacier, commanded an Infantry Battalion along Line of Control and two Infantry Brigades, including one deployed in North Waziristan during counter terrorism operations. He Commanded an Infantry Division deployed in Swat, Dir and Chitral for counter terrorism operations. He served as Director General Doctrine & Evaluation (a think tank of the Army) at General Headquarter Rawalpindi. His last assignment was Director General Institute of Strategic Studies Research and Analysis at National Defence University, Islamabad. He remained instructor at Pakistan Military Academy, Command & Staff College Quetta and at the War College in National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad. He is a graduate of Command & Staff College Quetta, National Defence University Islamabad and Beijing (China). Apart from this, he served under the Umbrella of UN peace keeping Mission in Somalia (UNOSOM-II). He has represented Pakistan Army at various International Forums and delivered lectures/participated in seminars on Sub Conventional Warfare, Strategic issues related to radicalization and deradicalisation. He is also the author of Sub Conventional Warfare Doctrine for Pakistan Army. His Qualifications include, Masters in Art and Science of Warfare, Masters in Defence Studies and Masters in Defence and Strategic Studies. He did PhD from Cranfield University, UK in 2021. Having visited 43 countries around the globe has vast knowledge of international relations. He is an avid reader and a keen Golfer. He is presently DG Religious Education in Ministry of Education.
Dr Peter Holmes is now a Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory (TPO), a Director of InterAnalysis and Reader in Economics at the University of Sussex.
He has also been a visitor at the University of British Columbia and a visiting professor at the College of Europe (Bruges and Warsaw) and in France.
His experience in consulting, research, training in the field of international trade policy and regional integration is highly sought after.
Peter is an expert on RTAs, EU and WTO issues including competition policy and dispute settlement, and technical barriers to trade as well as supervising and managing projects.
Peter Holmes did his BA and PhD in Economics at Cambridge University.
Dr. Chiu is a University Fellow at De La Salle University, and holds the Don Antonio Cojuangco Professorial Chair of Industrial Technology and Research Fellow A. He has advised post-graduate research works and published more than 200 papers, book chapters, and keynote documents in the field of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP), and Industrial Ecology / Eco-industrial Development (EID). He is a member of the United Nations International Resource Panel, and also serves as member of the international expert committee to the United Nations Green Industry Platform, wherein his UN publications cover training manuals, policy action plans and industrial policies in Asia Pacific. He is a Philippine delegate to the United Nations at Rio+20 Head of States Summit as well as in the CSD19, and Regional Executive of the RECPNet, with secretariat based in UNIDO and UNEP. He also served as member of the Philippine National Pollution Adjudication Board from 2003-2016. Dr. Chiu also serves several international research entities as President (APRSCP, ISBITM, APIEMS), Board Director (ISIE, IFPR), and editorial board member (JCLP, JPIIE, JCIIE, PIE) of international high-impact journals. He co-chairs the Philippine Industrial Engineering Certification Board. Professor Chiu is the first Philippine awardee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as outstanding international correspondent, and the second Philippine recipient of the ASEAN Engineer in the field of Industrial Engineering.
Tayaba Batool is an economist and entrepreneurial international trade and finance professional with 18 years of progressive past experience. She has extensive background in policy analysis, long term strategic planning (including spatial planning), evidence based decision making, research and analysis, policy formulation.
Besides strategy and policy making, she has good experience of project management, progress review, coordination and business development with national and sub-national governments. Her recent experience with Government of Pakistan includes working with Federal Board of Revenue on Market Monitoring and Intervention on MP-I scale. Earlier she worked at Planning Commission, Cabinet Division and Ministry of Commerce. She worked with Government of Punjab for The Urban Unit, Planning and Development Department.
She has also been working with international organizations including World Bank, USAID, DAI, Commonwealth Secretariat & UNDP and private enterprises. And has been participating in many national and international conferences/ policy round tables/ seminars and represented Pakistan at different forums.
She is an active philanthropist as well. Recently she volunteered her services to establishing Social Protection Resource Centre (SPRC) and Pakistan Alliance for Social Protection (PASP) for promoting the cause of social protection in the larger public interest.
Mutee ul Rehman is Head of policy research and Chief Technical Advisor at Capacity Analytics. He is an economist with focus on regional and development planning. He has experience of public and development sector organizations within the 13 years of his professional career.
Previously, he has served leading international organizations, think tanks, academia and public sector organizations. He has worked on many development projects by the World Bank, USAID, DFID & GIZ and many national donors.
He is pursuing PhD in Economics from Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, where he also teaches as visiting faculty.
He primary areas of research are social protection, labor markets, employment, industries & domestic commerce, WASH and spatial planning. His core competencies include Econometric Modelling, Regional/Spatial Planning & Training and Capacity Building.
Mutee is also member of core management team of various research and consultancy firms where he provides inputs for project planning, management and research.
Osama Asghar is serving Capacity Analytics as a Graphic Designer. Previously, he worked as a Graphic Designer at different development sector organizations. He has hands on experience in Graphic Designing. He possesses professional knowledge of creation and maintenance visual reports/infographics as well as providing an advisory and support role to the business to ensure the most accessible presentation of information. He specializes in developing innovative and appealing static and interactive data visualizations for external uses such as websites, annual and quarterly reports and reports to other stakeholders. His areas of expertise include designing of Reports, Infographics, Policy Briefs, Working Papers and Spatial data mapping & visualization with the help of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and ArcGIS.
Besides the expertise in Graphic Designing and Data Visualization, Osama is pursuing Chinese Language studies from Tianjin University, China.
Ayesha tuz Zehra is serving Capacity Analytics as Research Analyst. She is a PhD (Econometrics) Research Scholar and focuses on econometric modeling & policy reforms. Her previous educational background in mathematics combined with economic knowledge helps her to create evidence-based policies.
Her areas of specialization include data collection, interpretation and analysis using econometric models, statistical techniques with the use of modern software techniques and designing surveys. She has designed various econometric models to quantify the social protection needs of the country. She is contributing to the research reports, working papers and development of indices for the organization.
Muzammal Afzal is a researcher and M.Phil Economics graduate from Applied Economics Research Center Karachi, with a special focus on political economy, social welfare and development. He has more than five years of research experience in areas of economic development, political economy, education, good governance, parliamentary reforms and youth & community development. He has experience of working with national/international development organizations and public policy think tanks.
Muhammad Afaq Sadiq is serving Capacity Analytics as a Research Associate. He is currently doing his M.Phil. In econometrics from PIDE and holds a BS degree in Economics from Quaid-e-Azam University. His areas of interest include Data Analysis, Econometric modelling and Visualization. He has contributed in Research reports, Proposal Development and Data Analysis at Capacity Analytics.
Mr. Muhammad Nadeem Riaz is the Senior Manager Business Strategy and Development at Capacity Analytics. With a diverse background of experience in private and public sector, he has served Business Strategy and Project Management positions in aviation industry and investment facilitation organizations, including Board of Investment (BOI), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Flynas and SaudiGulf Airlines. Throughout his (16 years) of experience in aviation, travel & tourism and investment promotion, he has successfully developed and executed comprehensive strategies that have led to substantial market expansion, growth & development. He thrives on analyzing market trends, identifying growth opportunities, and devising innovative approaches to capture new audiences.
He did Bachelor’s degree in commerce & accounting, Later, he received his Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree. He also attained various certifications and trainings in Business & Strategy Development, Project Management and Data Analytics.
During his services in BOI, he managed investment portfolio of over $20 billion and Project Manager for SAARC and Middle East Regions. He was the focal point of contact for Federal and Provincial Government agencies, Foreign Missions in Pakistan, International Bodies (World Bank, Asian Development Bank), Chamber of Commerce and Trade Bodies and International Business Associations. He spearheaded various projects that increased business efficiency, growth and revenue for the companies. He has special skills in data analytics, preparation of business cases, data driven market reports, financial & technical feasibility studies and monitoring & evaluation of various aviation & investment projects. Identifying business opportunities, writing RFPs, negotiating contracts, project implementation & delivery and relationship management are the key factors of his working abilities.
During his current role as Senior Manager Business Strategy, he is managing mix portfolio of business development and project management, where he identifies projects, prepare RFP/RFQ/EOIs, develop proposals, make presentations to the clients/donors, negotiate TORs, prepare & finalize business contracts and complete projects within agreed timelines. In addition to this, he prepares project plans, execute & allocate tasks, analyze & review project performance in line with milestone plan, take corrective actions and ensure timely completion & delivery of projects.
Munira Mansoor is serving Capacity Analytics as a Research Intern. She enjoys sifting through
information in order to discover and extract what is most important in each set of material and
endeavors to produce real world applications of her findings. With a keen interest in rural poverty
alleviation and poverty reduction, she aspires to apply quantitative and qualitative research methods to
produce beneficial data and discover new horizons for rural communities for their socio-economic uplift.
In this regard she has previously interned with international rural development organizations like
International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD)’s project ‘Economic Transformation Initiative’ for rural
communities in Gilgit-Baltistan and the Aga Khan Agricultural Programme.
Talha Mannan is a Computer Scientist with solid knowledge of JavaScript frameworks. As an Associate at
Capacity Analytics, he has been handling Capacity Analytics’ website for more than a year and has
progressed immensely. His dedication to implementing innovative ideas into his work has made him the
best at his work. Being a Computer Science Graduate from Pakistan's top university, he has hands on
expertise in Computer Networking. His core skills also include the role of SAP Architect. Also, managing,
evaluating, and integrating solutions regarding business requirements is his keen focus.
Previously, he participated in the project for the Punjab Safe City program and polished his networking
skills by utilizing Wireshark, NetFlow, OP Manager, and Nagios. During his graduation, he completed
various Networking and Machine Learning Projects including Bank Management System, Face Detection
Using Machine Learning Techniques, and I.T. based Car Parking system.
He is now pursuing his goals by adding value to the firm.
Sidra Qureshi is serving Capacity Analytics as a Research Analyst. Sidra covers economic and statistical analytical work and is responsible to compile, analyze, and report data to explain economic phenomena, applying mathematical models and statistical techniques. Sidra is among the lead research analysts on the team, supporting in formulation of recommendations, policy analysis, policies/plans to solve economic problems or to interpret markets. Her areas of specialization are economic analysis, trainings, smart economy, SDGs, Informal economy & labor markets and Social Protection. She is also working on urban planning and smart cities in consortium with Researchers from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Mineral (KFUPM).
Prior to her current role as a Research Analyst, Sidra has worked as a Researcher in the research and development sector with various organizations working collaboratively with internationally experienced professionals from UNICEF, World Bank and USAID. She holds a degree in Economics from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST).
Meher is currently serving as a Research Associate at Capacity Analytics. With a background in education, holding a bachelor's degree from the International Islamic University, and three years of prior work experience in a non-profit organization focused on social mobility projects, she brings a unique blend of skills and expertise to her role.
Her work is instrumental in securing new projects and client engagements. Additionally, she plays a central role in producing high-quality reports, skillfully synthesizing data, analyzing findings, and articulating insights clearly and concisely, ensuring clients receive actionable recommendations derived from comprehensive research.
She actively contributes to project management, assisting in planning, scheduling, and resource allocation to ensure projects progress efficiently and meet client satisfaction. Her comprehensive skill set and dedication significantly enhance the organization's ability to provide clients with data-driven solutions and valuable insights.
Ms. Afridi is currently serving as a Research Intern at Capacity Analytics. She holds a BS degree in Development Economics from Quaid-I-Azam University, demonstrating her strong foundation in economics. As a young graduate, she exhibits passion for data analytics, data visualization, and the intricacies of contributing to research frameworks.
She has made contributions to our team through her involvement in various research reports and data driven projects. Her commitment to understanding data at its core and extracting valuable insights showcases her dedication to advancing the field of research and analytics. She is currently working on the regulatory, competition and innovation landscape of the business climate in Pakistan.
Rafia is currently serving as a Research Intern at Capacity Analytics. She is a budding data analyst with a strong commitment to informing policy-making from an evidence -based perspective. Her interests encompass complexity, causality, and mixed methods research. She is dedicated to exploring solutions and devising policies tailored to the nuances of the local context. She has recently graduated from Quaid-I-Azam University with a degree in Economics.
Rafia is currently working around the themes of climate change and green jobs at Capacity Analytics.
Dr. Zahid Asghar is the Director School of Economics at Quaid-i-Azam University and the Technical Expert of Capacity Analytics. He is an applied Econometrician and statistician with good command of social science data analysis, survey data and SDGs analysis aiming to play a role in having better awareness of development indicators in the society and to contribute to an evidence based decision making in socio-economic policy. Dr. Asghar is Urban and Development Economist and trainer for data visualization and data analysis. Previously, he was Chairman Department of Statistics at Quaid-i-Azam University. He is Member of multiple Technical Committees at the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics including Price Indices, SDGs and National Account Committee. He has been Member Board of Faculty for International Institute of Islamic Economics and Riphah University. He remained Senate Member of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. He has published a number of research articles in National and International journals. And has been presenting his research around the world. Dr. Asghar has a B.Sc. in Mathematics, Statistics and Physics from University of Punjab. He did his M.Sc. Statistics from Baha Uddin Zakaraya University and holds a PhD in Economics from Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
Lt. Col. Muhammad Iqbal (Retd.) is a veteran and a dynamic professional with multifaceted proven experience of 34 years in digital marketing. He has been actively providing advice on content strategy, inbound marketing, social media and SEO. He is expert in ensuring content impact, managing content, engaging audiences and expanding content’s outreach. He is abreast with the concepts of marketing in Digital World and can very well handle digital analytics and marketing analytics. He has specialisation in Advance Google Analytics. Previously, he was the Director General Punjab at Benazir Income Support Program (BISP). As the pioneer team member of BISP, he streamlined its operations and established its field offices across Pakistan. He has extensive experience of working with teams from World Bank, Asian Development Bank, DFID, USAID and other development partners. He has a Masters in International Relations from University of Karachi. He is also a Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP). Some of his other certifications include Content Strategy for Professionals from North-Western University USA, Digital Analytics for Marketing Professionals- Marketing Analytics in Theory and Practice from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign USA, Inbound Marketing Strategy from Hubspot and Search Engine Optimization from University of California, Davis, USA.
Mr. Muhammad Shafique is a seasoned professional in the field of Infographics and Data Visualization. He has over seven years of experience of manipulating complex and boring data sets into beautiful and eye-catching infographics and data visualization.
He possesses professional knowledge of creation and maintenance visual reports/infographics as well as providing an advisory and support role to the business to ensure the most accessible presentation of information. He specializes in developing innovative and appealing static and interactive data visualizations for external uses such as websites, annual and quarterly reports and reports to other stakeholders.
He has worked with several national and international organization i.e., World Bank, USAID, UNFCCC UKAID, UNDP, Australian Aid, CDKN, European Union, WaterAid, Oxfam, Lead Pakistan etc.
Mr. Haroon Qidwai is a CFA level 3 candidate with over 12 years of professional experience primarily in Corporate Finance, Public Debt, Risk, Treasury Management and Capital Markets. As consultant with Asian Development Bank he provides advisory on Debt Capital Markets, Corporate Finance & Investment Management to the Ministry of Finance. Mr. Qidwai is a professional Bloomberg trainer & expert who has provided technical advisory on both external and domestic loans. A Dealer Money Market & FX at Treasury & Capital Market Group, NBP with vast experience of dealing with interest rates, exchange rate & OTC derivatives instruments (Swaps, Forwards & Options).
Mehdi Bokhari is a seasoned GIS & Information Management Professional with an MBA (IT) & MSc (CS) and 20+ years of progressive experience in 3 continents including Asia, Africa, and North America. He specializes in assisting public, private, and humanitarian organizations in enhancing their disaster mitigation and development initiatives through spatially enabled decision-making tools. He has exceptional communication, presentation, proposal writing, and program management skills. Furthermore, he has been involved in philanthropic fundraising, policy-level dialogues, and capacity building at the grass-roots level. Mehdi has worked in a range of sectors including Multi-sectoral Information Management, Vulnerability Mapping & Analysis, Needs Assessment, Food Security, Logistics, Transportation, Community Development, Urban Planning, Energy, Education, Health, Climate Change, Election, and issues related to digital divide among communities. Some of the organization he worked for includes USAID, USDOT, FHWA, UNDP, UNOPS, UNICEF, WFP, GIZ, SDC, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, British Columbia Ministry of Forests & Natural Resources, Saudi Aramco, Qatar Petroleum, and Municipalities of Baghdad, Dammam, and Doha. He has proven ability to review and manage large projects, across a broad spectrum of geographically distributed teams and services, creating value for all stakeholders. Mehdi’s extensive emergency and international development exposure and hi-tech solutions implementation background enables him to analyze the humanitarian response and make collaborative contributions to reducing human suffering and saving lives promptly.
Mr. Naeem Ahmad is a competent development practitioner and carries over a decade of experience working for different national and international organizations. He is a diligent committed M&E professional with a spirit of team play. Having a background in demography, research and data analysis, he has been working with different organizations in setting up M&E Systems. Currently he is managing National Poverty Census being carried out by Ehsaas Programme at BISP with a leading role in Coordination and Training.
Mr. Ahmad has worked on various evaluation studies including evaluation of DFID funded Ilm-2 project interventions of seven different grantees. He has also completed Annual Survey on Out of School Children (OOSC) for KESP. He had been engaged in information management and compilation Pakistan Emergency Situational Analysis (PESA), Pakistan Development Perspective (PDP), MINI district profiles for response and relief activities carried out by humanitarian community in Pakistan, and flood and earthquake atlases. His area of expertise includes management of surveys, research, monitoring & evaluation, development of Data Quality Control Framework, proposal writing, data analysis (regression modeling, association of variables and significance tests), data mining, information and knowledge management and capacity building.
Dr. Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan
Dr. Sarfraz Ahmed Khan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology of Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad and is the technical expert of Capacity Analytics. He has more than 20 years of experience with research expertise on the issues related to international migration, gender, remittances, health and education. He is Member, Board of Studies for Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi and University of Okara. He is member of the Research Advisory Board of the Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) and Idusian Research Cell.
He has been advising Balochistan Rural Development and Community Empowerment Programme (BRACE) project which is funded by European Union and implemented by three implementing partners; RSPN, NRSP and BRSP in close collaboration with the Government of Balochistan. He has also been providing gender responsive evidence based research trainings. He was part of the technical review of qualitative research project report engaging men and boys to accelerate efforts to end gender-based violence in Pakistan. He has published a number of research articles in National and International journals.
Dr. Khan holds an M.A. in Sociology from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. He completed his M.Phil and PhD in Anthropology from Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. Some of his other certifications include Harvard Project of Asian and International Relations from Harvard University USA, Issue of “Save the Heritage of Pakistan” by UNESCO and Summer School entitled “Becoming Adult between the Local and Global-Educational and Private Biographies of Young Pakistani at Home and Abroad” at University of Wuppertal.
Ms. Roubina Taufiq Shah is a Commerce & Trade Officer with a vast experience in trade promotion, facilitation and training. She joined government service in 1981 as an officer of Chief Controller Imports & Exports and served in Ministry of Commerce and its various departments including Export Promotion Bureau, PITAD, TDAP and TDRO. She retired from 35 years of Government service as Director General, heading the Trade Dispute Resolution Organization (TDRO), Ministry of Commerce in July 2016. After her retirement she served as Director Administration, Finance & HR in Centre of Excellence, CPEC, a project of PIDE and Ministry of Planning Development & Reform till 1st June 2018. Her most important experience has been as a Trade Promotion Officer. Ms. Shah was posted as Commercial Secretary Pakistan High Commission Dhaka where she served her country for 4 years. Ms. Shah has to her credit organizing some very important events and exhibitions like Date Shows Dhaka, DITF Dhaka, Pakistan participation in Batexpo Dhaka, Wetex Dhaka (an annual exhibition for women entrepreneurs). Moreover, she organized EPB (now TDAP) shows like Wexnet, Expo Pakistan Karachi, D-8 Exhibition & Conference Islamabad 2012. Ms. Shah has been associated with the concept of promoting women entrepreneurs in Pakistan for the last 30 years. She pioneered the project of WEXNET (Women Exporters Network) a branded annual exhibition of TDAP in Pakistan for women entrepreneurs from year 2000. From 2010, her services have been utilized by USAID for training women entrepreneurs in trade related matters. In 2016, she was the main resource person for USAID Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA) which had an underlying objective of encouraging more women in Pakistan’s trade sector. Under this objective, the ‘Women Leadership in Trade Policy’ (WLTP) Program a series of roundtable discussions were held on the subject in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, under the supervision of Ms. Shah in 2017-18. In 2020 she provided inputs to ITC (Intracen) and World Bank for formulation of Report on Addressing Non-Tariff-Measures in Pakistan in general and hurdles in trade for women entrepreneurs in particular. She graduated from Kinnaird College for Women Lahore in 1976 and did her M.Sc in Geography from Punjab University Lahore in 1979.
Ms. Rizwana Ehsan Waraich is a practitioner with expertise in poverty, social, gender and M&E sector. She has sound experience in project development and management with focus on planning, monitoring, reporting, and coordination in international development organizations. She has experience of working in South-East Asian countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan. She has been playing key role as Technical Expert of Agriculture for PODA Pakistan, a women’s rights NGO, since 2003. She is Board Member of The Lok Sangh Foundation Pakistan and plays a strategic role for people-centered development to reduce poverty, enhance food security through strengthening local democracy, empowering women and sustainable use of natural resources. As a Gender Expert she has worked with Ernest and Young Pakistan for conducting study on Women Employment Trends in Urban Areas of Punjab Skills Development Funds (PSDF). She is Gender Expert with IUCN assignment for Strengthening Governance and Capacity for Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade in Pakistan. She is also a consultant with UN Women Pakistan on Gender and Climate Change. She has provided technical input regarding mainstreaming gender equality and protection concerns in the work of UN Cluster leads (WHO, WFP, FAO, UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM, UNDP), UNOCHA, NDMA and PDMAs. She obtained her Bachelor Degree in Economics and Statics from Punjab University Lahore in 1981. Later she did a Master in English Literature from University if Punjab in 1991. She also obtained a Master in Business Administration (HRM) in 2006.
Mrs. Talat Rizwan is a results-driven practicing lawyer since 2010. She is an advocate of the High Court of Pakistan with an L.L.B. from University of Punjab. She has extensive experience in corporate, taxation, commercial banking, competition, labour and consumer matters. Presently, she is the Central Secretary Legal Affairs Women Wing for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). She is a very active civil society member and takes part in various matters of public interest. She has also established Talat Rizwan Foundation for Sustainable Development in Pakistan.
Mr. Umar Farooq brings more than 12 years of experience in project management, strategic planning, M&E, and public policy research. He is highly skilled in development communications and analytical writing and has hands on experience in implementing complex development programmes in coordination with government institutions. Mr. Farooq has extensive experience in conducting policy dialogues with government departments, drafting policy briefs concerning public policy issues, and developing policy papers on socio-economic issues. Additionally, Umar Farooq has completed his Master’s Degree in International Trade and Development as a Fulbright Scholar from Eastern Michigan University, United States in 2012. He also attended Harvard University Summer School, United States to pursue a special course on Economic Development in India and East Asia. On research front, he worked with SDPI-an Islamabad based research institution, as a research consultant and was part of the team that developed three international quality research papers on public policy and political economy of research together with Arif Naveed and Doctor Jeff Woods AcSS, Professor Emeritus University of Bath, UK.
Shoaib Kahut is a student of economics with focus on regional economics and sustainable development. He has experience of public and private sector organizations within the five years of his professional career. Previously, he has served government of Pakistan, in the capacity of young development fellow at Planning Commission. In private sector, he has worked both in Islamabad and Karachi for different organizations advocating for youth rights development. Shoaib has also been the part of Global shapers-youth hub of World Economic Forum. Currently, He is pursuing PhD in Economics from Shandong University China.
His primary areas of research are Belt and Road initiative, sustainable development, environmental economics and western economics. He has published two research papers in international SCI journals. His core competencies include Economic research and Data Analysis.
Ayesha tuz Zehra is serving Capacity Analytics as Research Analyst. She is a PhD (Econometrics) Research Scholar and focuses on econometric modeling & policy reforms. Her previous educational background in mathematics combined with economic knowledge helps her to create evidence-based policies. Her areas of specialization include data collection, interpretation and analysis using econometric models, statistical techniques with the use of modern software techniques and designing surveys. She has designed various econometric models to quantify the social protection needs of the country. She is contributing to the research reports, working papers and development of indices for the organization.
Muzammal Afzal is a researcher and M.Phil Economics graduate from Applied Economics Research Center Karachi, with a special focus on political economy, social welfare and development. He has more than five years of research experience in areas of economic development, political economy, education, good governance, parliamentary reforms and youth & community development. He has experience of working with national/international development organizations and public policy think tanks.
