Nidaa Shahid

Nidaa Shahid is an Associate Director at the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS), Lahore, where she specializes in nuclear arms control, disarmament, non-proliferation and national security. Her role involves organizing policy-driven seminars and roundtables, providing policy recommendations to decision-makers, and guiding young researchers in refining their analytical skills and research work.

Before joining CASS, she served as an International Relations Analyst at the Arms Control & Disarmament Affairs (ACDA) Branch of Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division (SPD) for a decade, conducting in-depth research on nuclear and strategic issues. She also held a research position at the Arms Control and Disarmament Division (ACDIS) of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Additionally, she has taught at Quaid-e-Azam University and Fatima Jinnah Women University.

With extensive experience in research and analysis, she actively contributes to the strategic discourse through high-level engagements at national and international forums. She has been awarded several prestigious fellowships, including those from the Research Society for International Law (RSIL), King’s College London (UK), and the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies (US). In addition, she has participated in various Track-II dialogues including engagements with BASIC (UK), and has represented Pakistan at the Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Her research has been presented at renowned international platforms such as the Cooperative Monitoring Center at Sandia National Laboratories (US) and the Centre for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Istanbul. Her scholarly work encompasses research articles in peer-reviewed journals alongside opinion pieces featured in national and international publications.

She holds an M.Phil. and an MSc in Defence and Strategic Studies from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, where she was a Gold Medalist. Her research interests include foreign policy, nuclear security, South Asian nuclear dynamics, and the role of media in perception management.