Expertise in: International Humanitarian Law and Policy

Samina Ahmed is Senior Adviser Asia and Project Director, South Asia, for the International Crisis Group. She oversees Crisis Group’s work in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Together with our analysts throughout the region, she prepares reports on the political, social, economic and military factors that increase the risks of violent extremism and inter-state conflict, and offers policy recommendations to overcome these threats.

In general, her team focuses on political, security and stability issues in South Asia, including governance challenges; educational, judicial and security sector reform; domestic and regional militancy and terrorism; domestic insurgencies and the risks of inter-state conflict, and international involvement and intervention in the region.

She also frequently briefs representatives of foreign ministries and international organisations, and is regularly involved in advocacy efforts internationally.

Ahmed has a PhD in Political Science and an MA in International Relations from the Australian National University. Prior to joining Crisis Group, she was a research fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and senior research analyst at the Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad. She was a Peace Fellow at New York University, Abu Dhabi, and a visiting researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC, the Stockholm Peace Research Institute, and Oxford University.