Our Leadership

Advisory Council

• Miangul Adnan Aurangzeb, Scholar and former Member, National Assembly of Pakistan

• Dr. Ghani Ur Rehman, Professor, Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

• Ibrar Hussain Shah, Project Engineer, Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan

• Salman Muhammad, Documentation Specialist, Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage

• Rubina Nabi, Civil Engineer, Pak-China Mobile Company, Islamabad

• Bushra Ambreen, Architect, Islamabad Serena Hotel

Board

Fasih-un-Nisa holds a PhD and has a background in community-based research and managing large national level surveys. She has been actively engaged in field research in the Gilgit-Baltistan region on issues related to women’s health, nutrition, girls’ education and biodiversity. She has worked with UNICEF to coordinate and manage the National Nutrition Survey conducted jointly by the Ministry of Health, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and UNICEF. Fasiha has extensive experience in training data collection teams and managing large-scale procurements. As a researcher, she has a number of publications to her credit. She has traveled extensively in Pakistan, China and Turkey to explore the life along the legendary Silk Road. She is a staunch supporter of preserving the natural heritage of the Silk Road, which she believes, can contribute to the economic and social development of the people of Pakistan. She also works as a visiting faculty at the International Islamic University in Islamabad.

Farhat Shafiq has more than 20 years of experience in Pakistan, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Canada in implementing large projects funded by major donors and international agencies including USAID, GIZ, CIDA, JICA, UNODC, and UNICEF. He has an extensive background in project management. He has led teams responsible to establish medium to large IT infrastructure for nationwide communication networks. He spearheaded the development of Information Systems and policies and procedures for using hardware and software for large organizations. In addition, he also has conducted trainings and orientation for efficient use of IT resources. Based on his knowledge and experience, Farhat Shafiq has designed database and data analysis protocols for a number of Silk Road Centre’s studies and surveys. He led the groundwork for the first National Conference of Early Childhood Care and Education organized by the Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training and the ECD Network of Pakistan in collaboration with development partners. The Silk Road Centre organized the conference as its technical lead.

Dr. Ijlal Hussain is an experienced organization, project, and team leader in development with over 16 years of senior management experience with the Government of Pakistan and with USAID-funded education projects in Pakistan. He has worked as the Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party and Director for Program Coordination for large donor-funded projects. Ijlal has been engaged to implement complex, nation-wide programs to achieve results.

Together with project management, Ijlal has an extensive background and experience in research and evaluation. He has designed research and evaluation studies and developed program expansion strategies. Ijlal has a strong commitment to promote the understanding of Pakistan’s rich cultural, linguistic and religious heritage. He has studied  cultural and religious significance of the legendary Silk Road for his PhD. He also has carried out research on heritage protection issues and language development in Pakistan. Ijlal has research publications in academic journals and newspapers to his credit.

Imran Hunzai is a trained and well-known sculptor. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the National College of Arts (NCA) Lahore. His pioneering work on kinetic and mechanical sculptures at NCA Lahore is widely acclaimed. He is among the highly talented and brilliant young sculptors of Pakistan. His works have been exhibited both at the national as well as international level. Creative media is his main source of inspiration and working along painting, drawing and poetry, he also uses wood sculpture to initiate another unique mode of expression. His works have produced good reviews in the national media. Imran has been practicing and teaching at NCA’s Rawalpindi Campus since 2007 and has also remained on the faculty of the School of Art Design & Architecture at the National University of Science & Technology (NUST) since 2012. He firmly believes that art and culture can play a vital role to bring about change in society. His dedication for art as an artist, teacher and researcher is evident from the works and highly talented students he has been producing.

Fakhra Naheed is a qualified medical doctor with over 19 years of experience in training and public health sector. She has served in various capacities with the government health and population welfare departments and NGOs. As a lead trainer, she has designed trainings and developed training modules in the area of reproductive health, nutrition, population welfare and tuberculosis (TB) cure and prevention. She has conducted trainings at the district, provincial and national levels. She also has worked on the teams responsible for organizing regional and national level awareness campaigns on health and population issues. Dr. Fakhra was part of an international team that conducted the ‘Pakistan Earthquake Survey: Methodological Lessons Learnt’. In addition to a medical degree, she has a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) and an Executive MBA. She is currently working as the National Coordinator for Health Systems with the National TB Control Program. Prior to this, she worked in different capacities with UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO and Nutrition Wing of the Ministry of Health. She has participated in trainings and presented papers at international conferences in India, Thailand and Bhutan. Together with disease prevention, she has a strong commitment to protect Pakistan’s cultural heritage from decay and extinction.

Farzana Amin is an experienced human resource (HR) professional. She has worked for both the development and corporate sector in the field of HR. In addition to staff development plans, she has supported the development of HR policies and procedures. She is an active member of the Human Resource Development Network (HRDN). She also has an innate interest in activities focusing intercultural communication, youth development and promotion of tourism in Pakistan. She has contributed to conferences on intercultural communication and interfaith harmony. As a youth activist, Farzana represented Pakistan at various international forums including the Commonwealth Youth Caucus (2007-09), Role of Youth in promoting respect and understanding (2008), International Youth Meeting under the Umbrella of Mevlana Rumi in Turkey (2007), and Regional Advisory Board of Commonwealth Asia. She has participated in numerous tourism promotion activities including the 2006 International Tourism Fair. She holds an MBA in HR and has attended a number of professional development courses. She is currently working as the Team Leader Recruitment & Selection with the First Microfinance Bank. Prior to joining the Bank, she worked with Orascom Telecom Company, Merlin Pakistan and Islamic Relief.