@2025 – All Right Reserved with CASS Lahore.
Nidaa Shahid, Associate Director at CASS Lahore, specialises in nuclear arms control and national security. With prior roles at SPD & MoFA, she is a seasoned researcher, educator, and global contributor, holding fellowships and a Gold Medal from QAU.
Nidaa Shahid is an Associate Director at the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS), Lahore, where she specialises in nuclear arms control, disarmament, non-proliferation and national security. Her role involves research and analysis, organising 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 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 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 MPhil 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.
Research Publications
- Two Decades of Indo-US Strategic Partnership: Implications for South Asian Strategic Stability and Future Strategic Trajectories – Nidaa Shahid and Dr Bilal Ghazanfar, Joint Working Paper, Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies Lahore, November 2024
- The Evolution og Nuclear Doctrines in South Asia: Implications of India’s NFU Policy Reassessment , CASS Working Paper, Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies Lahore, January 2024
- Addressing Cyber Vulnerabilities through Deterrence – Nidaa Shahid and Dr Ahmed Khan, Journal of Contemporary Studies (JCS), NDU – Vol XI, No 1, Summer 2022
- Indian Interests and Evolving Policies under BJP Leadership: Projections for 2024, CISS Insight – Vol 10, No 1 Summer 2022
- The Potential for Developing Shared Nuclear Responsibilities in an Unstable South Asian Nuclear Relationship – BASIC UK (Jul 6, 2022)
- Global Nuclear Security Architecture Post NSS – Challenges & Prospects, Journal of Strategic Affairs Volume IV – Issue No.1 Winter 2019
- Influence of Media on Public Perceptions: Case Study of Pakistan’s Nuclear Program, Journal of Security and Strategic Analysis (JSSA) Volume V Issue No. 1, Summer 2019
- Motivations for Pakistan to go nuclear (Short Research Paper), Interaction, Mar 2019
Opinion Articles
- Air Power in Contrast: India’s Spectacle vs. Pakistan’s Strategy. Strafasia, May 10, 2025
- Pahalgam: The Price of Denial in IIOJK, Stratheia, April 24, 2025
- Brahmos: Strategic Asset or Strategic Folly?, Pakistan Politico, 25 March 2025
- Paul Kapur’s Appointment: A Shift In US Policy Towards India And Its Impact On Pakistan, Friday Times, Mar 10, 2025
- A Tale of Two Policies, Pakistan Today, Feb 12, 2025
- Soaring Hopes amid Grounded Reality – Straf Asia, Jan 22, 2025
- India’s Radioactive Woes – Stratheia, Nov 22, 2024
- Squad vs Quad: The Domino Effects of Minilateralism in the Indo-Pacific, Pakistan Politico, Oct 1, 2024
- Urban Sprawls and Pakistan’s Development Imbalance, Friday Times, Aug 29, 2024
- AI Enabled Deterrence: Promises and Pitfalls, Pakistan Today, Aug 2, 2024
- Beyond the Smokescreen of Modi’s Election Rhetoric, Pakistan Politico, May 23, 2024
- The Tejas Program: Triumphs, Tragedies, and Troubles, Straf Asia Mar 29, 2024
- Diplomacy Amdist Conflict: A Kashmir Day Reflection, The Gulf Observer Feb 5, 2024
- Reviving Mr Jinnah’s Pakistan: A Critical Reflection and a Call to Action, The Nation Dec 25, 2023
- Unveiling the Ethical Paradox: Human Oversight in the age of Autonomous Weapons, Straf Asia Dec 23, 2023
- From Keystrokes to Conflicts: Safeguarding Pakistan’s Cyber Sovereignty, Pakistan Politico Oct 31, 2023
- Pakistan: Between Ethnocentrism, Xenophobia and Xenocentrism, Stratheia Sep 20, 2023
- G20 Glitz and Domestic Grit: India’s Dual Reality, Pakistan Today Sep 18, 2023
- Navigating the Social Media Battlefield in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict, Pakistan Politico Aug 19, 2023
- From Autonomy to Agony: IOK’s Journey since Aug 2019, Straf Asia Aug 5, 2023
- China: The Next Global Mediator?, Pakistan Politico Mar 24, 2023
- The Smokescreen of Indian Uranium Deficiency, Pakistan Politico Magazine Sep 21, 2020
- Dangerous Indian Designs 1998 – 2020: Does the Leopard Ever Change Its Spots?, Straf Asia May 30, 2020
- Truth behind Indian claims of nuclear fuel deficiency, Daily Times Jun 8, 2019
- Tale as old as time: Pakistan bashing amid Indian elections, Straf Asia May 19, 2019
- Is India aspiring to become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds?, Pakistan Politico May 18, 2019
- Indian misadventures across the border: war hysteria or a calculated move?, Daily Times Feb 28, 2019
- Betting on the Indian Horse, Express Tribune Mar 10, 2018
- Hindutva’s revival and South Asian stability, Foreign Policy News Jan 12, 2015
- Indian Quest for NSG Membership, Dawn, Aug 1, 2013
The Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS) was established in July 2021 to inform policymakers and the public about issues related to aerospace and security from an independent, non-partisan and future-centric analytical lens.