Guests 2022

Dr. Mir Sadaat Baloch is the founding president of Balochistan Council for Peace and Policy the first think tank of Balochistan. He holds a PhD in Social Marketing from University of Hertfordshire UK and works as Policy and Research Specialist for World Bank Governance and Policy Project Balochistan. His areas of expertise are: Public Policy, Public relations and Advocacy, Planning and Decision Making, Power Relations, Conflict Management, Peace Building and Countering Violent Extremism, Community and Youth Engagement.

Gulab Khilji is currently serving as Deputy Director (Curriculum) at the Bureau of Curriculum Secondary Education Department Balochistan, Quetta. He received his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, with a concentration in Curriculum Studies, from the University of North Texas, the USA, in 2016. He has actively contributed to teacher education, education policy, curriculum, and education assessment in Balochistan. His research interests include curriculum studies, education policy, teacher education, sociocultural theory, and qualitative research. He has been involved in reviewing the Single National Curriculum Council for curricular reforms in Pakistan as a member national strategic committee.

Riaz Ahmed Shaikh, PhD, is Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences and Education / Chair-Doctoral Committee / Editor-in-Chief JISR at SZABIST, Karachi, Pakistan. He served as editor of peer-reviewed international research journal, Journal of Management & Social Sciences- JMSS from 2007 – 2010 and Managing Editor of Asia Journal of Global studies- AJGS, Osaka, Japan. His several research papers have been published in the journals of international repute. He is the author of six books. His fields of interest are poverty, social justice, democracy, and social inclusion. He has been part of a review of the social studies curriculum and textbooks in Sindh.

Dr. Fozia Ahmad completed her PhD in Educational Policies and Planning at a foreign institution in 2020 after earning a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Management from Aga Khan University. Dr. Ahmed has 20 years of experience   in         the       Education       sector,             working          with government counterparts, UN agencies (UNDP, FAO), donors, national and international NGOs, The Ag Khan

University, and rural communities to improve access to the essentials for a dignified life. She currently serves as Assistant Professor at BUITEMS and leads the department of Education as a chairperson.

Dr. A. H. Nayyar is a physicist now retired after having taught at Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad for over 32 years. Besides holding visiting positions in various countries, he also taught at the Lahore University of Management Sciences for a couple of years and has a long-term association with Princeton University, the USA as a research scientist. He has been a keen observer of and has written extensively on school and higher education issues. In the area of Education, he currently collaborates with rights organizations to highlight violations of the fundamental rights of religious minorities in Pakistan.

Dr. Kaiser Bengali
Kaiser Bengali is an economist with over 45 years experience in teaching, research and policy advice in Pakistan He has a Masters in Economics from Boston University, USA, and a PhD in Economics from University of Karachi, Pakistan. He has taught and conducted research at prestigious institutions in Pakistan, such as, the Applied Economics Research Centre, University of Karachi, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science & Technology, and was Managing Director of the Social Policy & Development Centre, Karachi.

Zafar Ullah is a PhD candidate in Social Anthropology at the university of Edinburgh. His doctoral research is focused on the everyday experiences of the Hazara taxi drivers on roads in Quetta Urban. Applying infrastructural violence as an analytical framework, his work seeks to untangle the undertones of violence, embedded in the infrastructure.

Jamshed Mehmood Raza, better known as Jami, will be joining us for a virtual session. He is a celebrated Film Director and Producer. He studied film at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in the United States.

Mayen Khan the 1st Ever Wildlife of Balochistan Photography at QLF will also present the work of Mayen Khan, he belongs to District Killa Abdullah in Balochistan. He is an environmental activist & an amateur wildlife photographer.

Dr Arif is a writer, a development consultant and public policy expert, writes on policy matters, politics, and international affairs.

Abid Meer is a Urdu teacher, writer and fiction writer. He is doing his doctorate on Urdu fiction of Balochistan these days.

Anwar Maqsood is a scriptwriter, television presenter, satirist, humorist, and infrequent actor.  He was well known for his drama write-ups for PTV in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Amjad Islam Amjad is not only a leading poet of the country but also a prominent playwright and popular lyricist. In recognition of his literary services and TV drama writing, the Government of Pakistan has awarded him the Pride of Performance and the Presidential Medal of Distinction.

Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra is a human rights activist, educationalist, Urdu language expert. She is a professor of history at Forman Christian College University.

Munir Momin is a great balochi poet and  writer.

Sikander Bizenjo is the co-founder of BYAC Balochistsn, a youth driven campaign across Balochistan to help people during COVID-19 and other occurring natural disasters. He is also helping build reading rooms across the province to promote the culture of education. Sikander is part of the Global Shapers Community of the World Economic Forum. He has represented Balochistan and Pakistan at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland this year.

Mohammad Waseem is World’s Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight champion. He has also won the World Boxing Council (WBC) silver flyweight title in the process for a second time.

Kaleemullah Khan is a footballer who played in the Iraqi Premier League for Zakho FC and the Pakistan national team.

Nahida Khan Achakzai a cricketer who plays as a batter, bowler and a wicket-keeper. She currently plays for Pakistan and has played domestic cricket for Quetta Saif Sports and Zarai Taraqiati Bank.

Shahida Raza is an athlete/sportsperson from Quetta. Shahida Raza played hockey for Pakistan Women’s Hockey Team. She is a 4-time football player of Pakistan Football Federation.

Rafi Khan is a Research Fellow at Balochistan Think Tank Network (BTTN). He has received his master’s degree in Linguistics from Quaid-I-Azam University and M.Phil. degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad.

Aadersh Hamza, working as an Associate Research Fellow at Balochistan Think Tank Network. He has done MPhil in International Relations from Quaid I Azam University Islamabad. He is also a recipient of Roll of Honor from Government College University Lahore.

Mr. Abdul Rehman working as a Research Fellow at the Balochistan Think Tank Network, BTTN. He has a master’s degree in International Relations from the Corvinus University of Budapest. He has also earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations, BUITEMS.

Ghamkhwar Hayat is one of the famous poets of Balochistan. He has done his masters in Brahui language and wrote multiple books. His book “Journey of Tears” is quite interesting as it revolves around the current issues masses are facing.

Aqsa Gharshin, who has translated Edith Nesbit’s Novel ” The Railway children’ for PTV at age 16. Gharshin has translated Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus’ book, ‘A world of three zeroes’ for the Yunus foundation in collaboration with a local NGO. She has scripted, translated, and gave voice overs for many short documentaries made by local NGOs. She writes prose and poetry, and her work has been published in local, national and at times international forums and magazines. Currently Gharshin is serving as a Deputy Commissioner in FBR.

Dr. Manzoor Ahmed currently serves as professor of Development Economics and Political Economy at Lasbela University, Balochistan, and as Consultant China Pakistan Economic Corridor in Planning and Development Department, revenue, taxation and public finance management, Government of Balochistan. He assists Government of Balochistan’s Project Management Unit on South Balochistan Package – a multibillion package – as Economic Specialist.

Khudadad Wajo, hailing from the coastal city of Gwadar is the Chairman of Gwadar Fisherman Alliance. He has been working not only to protect the legal rights of the local fisherman community but also has a contributed in the protection of marine life.

Quratulain Bakhteari, who has PhD from the university of technology Loughborough UK. Her more than 35 yrs. of experience in the management of human resource and organizational development systems.

Dr. Abdul Rauf Rafiqui, completed his education from Chaman, Quetta and Islamabad. He has Master’s degrees in subjects as varied as Botany, Pashto and Islamic studies, and he has also done his M.Phil. In Literature.

Fatima Ijaz is a poet and teaches English and Speech at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA). Her book, “The Shade of Longing and other Poems”, was published by The Little Book Company in December 2021. She is a contributing editor at he Aleph Review, Kyoto Journal, Ideas&Futures, The Missing Slate, Tillism, Tales from Karachi, The Write Launch, Rigorous and the Bombay Review. She was a poetry reader and panelist at KLF (2020 – 2022) and the Bradford Literature Festival (2022).

Prof Khalil Bawar is a reckoned Pashto poet, fiction writer and one of the leading literary and cultural activists. His fiction work has been translated in Urdu and English, “the empty frame” is one of his eminent short stories imparted in the textbook in Canda. He is leading Pashto Academy Quetta as General Secretary and has thrived the academy to foster learning of Pashto language centres and conduct series of International Pashto conference in Quetta.

Zia Khan founder of Quetta Online Volunteers. Zia Khan and Quetta Online Volunteers work appreciated on national and international level like 3 times UN Volunteers award, Pride of Pakistan 2021, Balochistan Excellence award and many more. He is always awarded and titled as SDGs Advocate for Balochistan by UNDP.

Faizaan Qayyum is a PhD Candidate at the University of Illinois and Visiting Fellow at ICRMS, BUITEMS. His work has focused on violence, displacement, and the urban.

Adil Bizanjo is a Filmmaker, Writer, Director from Lyari. He worked mostly in Balochi film medium, he recently makes his first feature film DODA which is also the first Balochi feature film to be released in cinema across Pakistan later this year. He also written/directed TV ONE’s murder mystery series Shatranj. His recent documentary MOHENJO-DARO won many prizes in different festivals around the globe.

Dostain Baloch is an independent filmmaker and a screenwriter. He graduated from ILMA University in 2019 and has been working ever since. He has written several screenplays and has made five short films, including his internationally recognized short film “Threads of shame” and the documentary “Don Akhbar”.

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Safar Ali Danish is an independent filmmaker from Quetta Balochistan, Pakistan. Graduated from Iqra University in major of Film and Tv. He has Produced/Written/Directed and Edited a Short film Awards at various film festivals around the globe. And his documentary film ‘A JOURNEY THROUGH PERSEVERANCE’ which he has Produced/Directed and Edited has won 1st Prize at Green Belief film festival by PTV Home and has received numerous awards at different local film festivals.

Ar. Essa Khan has been serving our city as a senior architect for the last 2 decades. It is a well-known proverb that “Actions speak louder than the words” and with architects like him the proverb seem to do justice.

Omar Shahid Hamid  is well known for his ability to translate the complexity of life in Pakistan, especially the criminal underbelly of Karachi, into nail biting crime fiction. Declan Walsh in the New York Times and Anatol Leiven in the NYRB have said if you want to know what Pakistan is really like, read Omar Hamid.

Hammad Rind is a Welsh-Pakistani writer, translator and the author of the debut novel ‘Four Dervishes‘(Seren Books, 2021), a satire loosely based on a dastan by Indo-Persian poet Amir Khusro.

Asim Sajjad Akhtar is an Associate Professor of Political Economy at QAU, having previously taught at LUMS. He has published widely in peer reviewed journals and is the author of four books, most recently The Struggle for Hegemony in Pakistan (Pluto, 2022). He is also a syndicated columnist for DAWN.

Hello! My name is Ali Aftab Saeed. I am a musician with a keen interest in satire, journalism and video logs. My work is aimed at using art as a medium for constructive change, the impact of which ranges across all generations.

Kohi Marri, has a B.A. in architecture, a diploma & foundation in film and European cinema.

For the past eighteen years he has given us beautiful works in design, photography and film. Marri’s work has been featured in some of the magazines in the country and a few international publications. These include profiles and reportage. Since 2010, he has worked on numerous video-based projects for USAID, Engro, GreenStar, Koel Gallery, Dawn, and Ufone Uth Records.

Dr. Asma Faiz teaches Political Science at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

Dr. Faiz’s edited volume Making Federation Work: Federalism in Pakistan after the 18th Amendment was published by Oxford University Press in 2015.

Ayesha Shahid is a citizen planner based in Rawalpindi and an independent researcher. She is allied with the Alliance for Urban Rights, and supports research and advocacy on anti-poor development projects, specifically related to land and transportation, in the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. She has research experience in the urban and rural sectors including mapping of katchi abadis in Karachi and Lahore and managing different urban research projects in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi. In Pakistan, she has worked with the World Bank’s Poverty and Equity and Governance units and government organizations like the Benazir Income Support Program. She has a Masters in City Planning from MIT and Bachelors from Williams College.

Sadiqa Sultan is a development practitioner and researcher. She is a graduate of University of Otago, New Zealand. Sadiqa’s work focuses on human rights specifically on the rights of more vulnerable groups in Balochistan including women, minority, PWDs, and persons with non-binary gender identities.

Dr. Arif Azad is a medical doctor with masters in both public policy and public health from the UK and Sweden. He holds diploma in urban managemnent and participatory democracy from the Netherlands as well as certificate in tobacco control from John Hopkins University USA. Azad has been a long-time member of the British Labour Party. He was also an active member of the writers’ organisation, the English PEN between 2001 – 2007.

Arshad Ashraf hails from Quetta. He is an exceptional professional wildlife photographer. He has command of the world’s most advanced photography equipment and creates wonders with them.

Zakir Daad Baloch is Actor, Director and Scriptwriter grew up in Gwadar Balochistan. Baloch had a keen interest in acting from young age when he started attending theatre and also starred in a loca sitcom ‘Gwadari Halwa’. The passion for film making grew and he also started writing directing short films as wall as indi feature films. He had also helped prominent Baloch film makers as assistant for multiple projects such as zaraab and doda, he also wrote script for Zaraab. Baloch holds a master degree in international relation and endevours to develop cultural understanding through his film making for domestic diverse cultures as well as international culturals. Baloch also had the In opportunity from Locarno Open Doors with Vidhi Films to attended the workshop in 2019 and completed feature length script NAASHI (Dusty Cold Wind) and won Future Film Award for Best Script from Getz Pharma Karachi.

Sarwar Javed is a former bureaucrat and a well-known master poet. He writes poetry in every genre of poetry with great skill and maturity. A collection of his poetry has also been published. He is literary and poetic representation of Balochistan throughout Pakistan.

Agha Gul is well known writer and fiction writer. Twelve collections of fiction and four novels have been published by him. He is famous for writing on the background of Balochistan. He has also written a book on the history of Urdu fiction in Balochistan.

Hayatullah Khan Durrani (Pride-of-Performance) and first Pakistani recipient of British Caving Legend Award who is a famous mountaineer and the first Pakistani having the honour of hoisting Pakistan national flag as team leader on the mountains top of Great Britain. Hayatullah Khan Durrani is first Pakistani cave explorer, is founder of Caving Adventurer Sports in Pakistan in 1984 and Pioneer of Mountaineering, Rock-climbing, Canoe Kayak and Rowing, Sports in Balochistan.

Taimoor Khan Mumtaz, is senior architect at Kamil Khan Mumtaz Architects. He holds an MA in South Asian Design & Architecture from De Montfort University, Leicester, UK (1999) and a Bachelor of Architecture from National College of Arts, Lahore in 1994.
Taimoor is also the founding director of Hast-o-Neest – Institute of Traditional Studies & Arts in Lahore. Hast-o-Neest promotes the research and study of traditional art and culture. It aims to provide an introduction to and a greater understanding of traditional thought, including sufi doctrine and method, traditional philosophy, metaphysics and cosmology, and the arts such as calligraphy, miniature painting, classical music and architecture.
The Institute holds Study Circles & Courses in Karachi, Lahore & Islamabad on, Calligraphy, Illumination (Tezhib), Miniature Painting, Classical Music (Vocals & Instrumental), Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Traditional & Modern Philosophy, Metaphysics (Irfan) and Islamic Architecture.

Yahya Musakhail Muhammad Yahya Musakhail, is a Provincial Coordinator, FAO Chilgoza Project. He is a A natural resource management professional, having a holistic viewpoint on integrating environmental, social and economic information for sustainable development and disaster.

Dr. Asim Bashir Khan, is a development economist and public finance expert. His major areas are public finance, fiscal federalism, local governments reforms, education, health, nutrition, agriculture, poverty, inequality, trade, and energy.

Mustafa Chaudhary pioneer of satire in Pakistan. Has worked for 4man show and BNN.

Dr Barakat Shah Kakar is currently working in Pashto Department UOB as faculty member. He has been working as Academician, Researcher, Writer and Civic Rights activist.

Dr. Jahanzeb Rind he is an Assistant Professor of History, University of Balochistan, Quetta. Rind’s area of interest is history and culture of Balochistan and colonial and post colonial studies.

Qandeel Badar belongs to a well-known literary family Known as Gohar Ghar of Balochistan. She is also serving as head of the Urdu department at Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University. She is a poet and commentator. She has a doctorate in poetry and ghazal in Balochistan.

Kainat Azhar is a writer, painter, and police officer. Her work has been published in numerous national and international print and electronic media. She is an INL Alumni and currently serves as Assistant Superintendent of Police in Punjab Police.

Naeem Dilpur is a singer, songwriter and composer from Balochistan. His works revolve around the life in Balochistan and its colors. His work is inspired by Balochi folk music, but not limited to it. Dilpur aspires to popularise Balochi music across the globe.

Hafeez Jamali is a scholar and civil servant whose research focuses on the effects of globalization and development on the livelihoods of marginalized communities. He holds n MPA in Public Administration from the University of Victoria a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin currently serving as Additional Secretary, Canada, . He is in the Government of Balochistan and serves as Balochistan’s Focal Person to Federal Government ministries, divisions, and attached departments.

Rafiullah Kakar is a policy analyst and development professional with specialisation in political economy analysis, public sector management, institutional development and reforms and ethnic conflict management.