Shireen M. Mazari, PhD, is a Pakistan political scientist and a prominent geostrategist, currently serving as Director-General of the Forei...
Shireen M. Mazari, PhD, is a Pakistan political scientist and a prominent geostrategist, currently serving as Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Tank (FAT) of the Pakistan Movement of Justice. She is currently working as the editor of the daily The Nation newspaper and as the Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs of thePakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party. She has also served as the Director General of The Institute of Strategic Studies, a think-tank based in Islamabad and was until recently a regular columnist at the daily The News International. She former served as professor of Military Science at the Quaid-e-Azam University.
Mazari was removed from her position as editor of The News after charging that journalists and aid workers were operatives for the US Government and the CIA. She cites American pressure in these episodes, a charge that both the government and The News administration deny.[1]
Mazari attended the London School of Economics and Political Science where she gained a B.Sc. with (Honours), followed by double M.Sc. in Military Science and Political science from the same institution. Mazari then traveled to United States where she attended the Columbia University. At there, she was awarded a Ph.D. inPolitical Science where her dissertation contained a comprehensive studies on Military history, geostrategic, and the foreign policy of Pakistan.[2]
Mazari formerly was an Associate Professor and then Chairperson of the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
She served as the Director General of The Institute of Strategic Studies, a research think-tank based in Islamabad until 2008. She was removed from this position in May 2008 before the end of her contract in August 2009, supposedly at the insistence of the United States, a point Mazari maintains despite United States denials. Former Foreign Secretary Ambassador Tanvir Ahmad Khan replaced her.[3]
Mazari was the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Weekly Pulse, from 1993 to 1999. She has also stayed as a regular columnist for The News Internationalnewspaper, writing for the daily as recently as 3 September 2009. She left the paper claiming American intrusion. Addressing a news conference, Mazari said that the US is poking its nose in all affairs of Pakistan, and when she started writing columns critical of the US policies in the region, the US Ambassador exerted pressure on the newspaper's management to suspend her writing.[citation needed]
The News International team, however, denied this allegation, and issued a clarification.[4]
Barely four days after leaving The News, she was offered the editor position at The Nation. She took over this position on 7 September 2009 vice Arif Nizami who was earlier sacked by his uncle and the Waqt Media Group editor-in-chief Majid Nizami.[5]
Mazari's views are considered to be a form of Pakistan nationalism and strong vocal of the Two-Nation Theory. Outspoken on Pakistan Foreign policy, she remains one of the academic openly criticizing Drone attacks and continue to criticize American-Pakistan relations. She joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on 25 November 2008 after a meeting with the Chairman of the party, Imran Khan.
She is a vocal critic of the United States policies in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mazari said her life has been under threat adding that the Minister of Interior and US diplomats will be responsible if anything happened to her.[13]
She is the daughter of former bureaucrat turned politician Ashiq Mohammad Khan Mazari,known as AMK Mazari. She has two children.
Mazari was removed from her position as editor of The News after charging that journalists and aid workers were operatives for the US Government and the CIA. She cites American pressure in these episodes, a charge that both the government and The News administration deny.[1]
Education
Mazari attended the London School of Economics and Political Science where she gained a B.Sc. with (Honours), followed by double M.Sc. in Military Science and Political science from the same institution. Mazari then traveled to United States where she attended the Columbia University. At there, she was awarded a Ph.D. inPolitical Science where her dissertation contained a comprehensive studies on Military history, geostrategic, and the foreign policy of Pakistan.[2]
Career
Academic career
Mazari formerly was an Associate Professor and then Chairperson of the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
She served as the Director General of The Institute of Strategic Studies, a research think-tank based in Islamabad until 2008. She was removed from this position in May 2008 before the end of her contract in August 2009, supposedly at the insistence of the United States, a point Mazari maintains despite United States denials. Former Foreign Secretary Ambassador Tanvir Ahmad Khan replaced her.[3]
Journalist and editor
Mazari was the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Weekly Pulse, from 1993 to 1999. She has also stayed as a regular columnist for The News Internationalnewspaper, writing for the daily as recently as 3 September 2009. She left the paper claiming American intrusion. Addressing a news conference, Mazari said that the US is poking its nose in all affairs of Pakistan, and when she started writing columns critical of the US policies in the region, the US Ambassador exerted pressure on the newspaper's management to suspend her writing.[citation needed]
The News International team, however, denied this allegation, and issued a clarification.[4]
Barely four days after leaving The News, she was offered the editor position at The Nation. She took over this position on 7 September 2009 vice Arif Nizami who was earlier sacked by his uncle and the Waqt Media Group editor-in-chief Majid Nizami.[5]
Political career
Mazari's views are considered to be a form of Pakistan nationalism and strong vocal of the Two-Nation Theory. Outspoken on Pakistan Foreign policy, she remains one of the academic openly criticizing Drone attacks and continue to criticize American-Pakistan relations. She joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on 25 November 2008 after a meeting with the Chairman of the party, Imran Khan.
Views
She is a vocal critic of the United States policies in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mazari said her life has been under threat adding that the Minister of Interior and US diplomats will be responsible if anything happened to her.[13]
Family
She is the daughter of former bureaucrat turned politician Ashiq Mohammad Khan Mazari,known as AMK Mazari. She has two children.
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