I am a mid-career professional with senior management experience in academia (think tanks and university) and the corporate sector. I have a Masters and an MPhil in International Relations from the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, and a Bachelors degree in Foreign Languages (Chinese, Spanish) from the National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad. Currently, I am a Faculty Member at the Faculty of Aerospace and Strategic Studies, of the Air University, Islamabad, where I am also a PhD scholar in Strategic Studies, working on South Asia's strategic culture. My research interests/expertise encompass diplomacy, strategic communication and geopolitics. Additionally, I have been the Editor-in-Chief of Strategic Foresight for Asia (Strafasia) since 2019, a London-based platform which publishes Pakistani scholars’ perspectives on issues of strategic concern and international political developments. Prior to joining Air University, from 2019 to 2021, I was Head of Business Development for China at a well-known exports firm in Karachi, where I also advised the CEO of the group of companies on political developments impacting their oil and gas stock-holdings. In September 2018, I undertook a 5-month Fellowship at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, where I presented my research on developing state narratives, with a particular focus on the Balochistan issue. From 2017 to 2019, I served as Vice President at the Center for Strategic and Contemporary Research in Islamabad, alongside being Visiting Faculty for the Department of International Relations at NDU. From 2012 to 2016, I served as Director Projects and Communication at the Pakistan-China Institute in Islamabad, and as Associate Editor of Youlin Magazine at the same institute from 2011 to 2016. I am also an alumna of NDU’s National Security Workshop (2014) and International China Pakistan Economic Corridor Workshop (2019).