Aasim Wajid Head of Strategy, Bank Alfalah Aasim Wajid Jawad is the Head of Strategy at Bank Alfalah with over 20 years of local and international experience. A Chartered Accountant from England & Wales, he holds a bachelor’s in economics from LSE. Previously, he served as Financial Controller and Head of Investor Relations at UBL and worked in London with Ernst & Young and Deloitte in audit and corporate finance roles.

Kiyoshi Taniguchi
Asian Development Bank Regional Lead Economist Kiyoshi Taniguchi is Regional Lead Economist, Economic Research and Development Impact Department (ERDI), Asian Development Bank.

Kiyoshi is currently a regional lead economist for the Central and West Asia Department. Prior to his current position, he was a country economist at the Pakistan Resident Mission, overseeing Afghanistan and Pakistan’s economies. He led the team to process Pakistan Country Partnership Strategy 2021-2025 and made noteworthy achievements in economic knowledge work. In his tenure at ADB, he carried out economic analysis for the Pacific Department as well as the Private Sector Operations Department and worked at the Uzbekistan Resident Mission, where he led a team of economists for Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Prior to ADB, he worked for the World Bank’s Indonesia Country Office and began his career as an economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy. He has also taught development economics at the International University of Japan, Westminster International University in Tashkent, and the University of the Philippines Diliman.

He holds a Doctorate and Master’s degree in Economics from the Ohio State University, United States. He obtained his second Bachelor’s degree in Economics with honors from the University of Oregon, United States, and his first Bachelor’s degree in Law from Chiba University, Japan.

Marcel Schröder Country Economist, Pakistan Resident Mission
Asian Development Bank Marcel Schröder is Country Economist, Pakistan Resident Mission (PRM), Asian Development Bank. Prior to joining ADB, he was an Assistant Professor at the Lebanese American University and a Lecturer at the Australian National University (ANU). He specializes in policy-oriented research centered around macroeconomic aspects of economic development. He holds a PhD in Economics from the ANU.

Manzoor Ahmad Economist Manzoor Ahmad is a Senior Fellow at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). He also serves as the Chairman of a WTO trade dispute panel in Geneva, a member of the Governing Council of Pakistan Single Window, and a Trade Advisor to the REMIT project.

From 2002 to 2008, Dr. Manzoor was Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO. He later served as the Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Liaison Office to the United Nations in Geneva. Prior to that, from 1986 to 1996, he worked as Deputy Director at the World Customs Organization (WCO). Between 2000 and 2002, as Member Customs, Dr. Manzoor led key tariff and trade facilitation reforms, earning Pakistan recognition as one of the World Bank’s top 10 reformers globally. His earlier roles in the Customs Department included serving as Collector of Customs in Karachi and Peshawar, as well as Chief Tariff at the Federal Board of Revenue.

More recently, Dr. Manzoor has been actively involved in various government reform initiatives. He served as a member of the Task Force on FBR Reforms and as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Tariff Rationalization for Export-Led Growth.

He has also held leadership positions in public sector organizations such as the Chairman, Board of Directors of Pakistan LNG Ltd and in think-tanks such as the President/Chairman of the Policy Research Institute for Market Economy (PRIME). Additionally, he has been a member of numerous advisory bodies and a regular columnist on economic and trade issues. Some of his recent articles are available at The Express Tribune.

Nasruminallah Mian Country Operations Planning & Team Lead Digital Transformation, Pakistan, Asian Development Bank Nasruminallah Mian is Country Operations Planning & Team Lead Digital Transformation, Pakistan Resident Mission (PRM), Asian Development Bank. Nasr is leading business planning and Digital/ICT sector at ADB Pakistan Office. He is from the 23rd Common batch of Civil Service of Pakistan (IRS) where he worked at World Bank and ADB funded projects. He has worked with the private sector for 10 years before joining ADB. Nasr has a Management degree from the Australian National University (ANU), a master’s degree in chemistry and LLB from Pakistan.

Naveed Abbas Memon Cross-Border Trade Automation and Trade Facilitation Expert
Pakistan Single Window Naveed Abbas Memon is a Cross-Border Trade Automation and Trade Facilitation Expert with 15 years of experience in Customs Administration. He played a key role in developing and rolling out the Automated Computerized System (WeBOC) and currently leads Business Process Reengineering for regulatory agencies under the National Single Window initiative.

Abbas Ali Gillani Lecturer, University of Lincoln (Lincoln, UK) Paper title: Does Improving Infrastructural Facilities at Schools Increases Participation Rate of Differently Abled Children? Evidence from Pakistan

Abdul Salam Lodhi Director University College of Zhob,
Baluchistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS) Paper title: Corruption and Education: A Cross Analysis Using Panel Data

Amjad Ali Assistant Professor, Department of Development Studies, Karakoram International University, (KIU) Paper title: Do Tourists' perception of social responsibility awareness shape tourists' environmental behavior? A case study in a high mountain region

Anwar Shah Professor, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad Paper title: Pros and cons of debt financing: an objective analysis

Ayesha Khatoon PhD Scholar at Institute of Business Administration Karachi Paper title: Impact of Pathogenic E. Coli in Drinking Water on the Well-being of Children

Demetrio Panarello Associate Professor, Link Campus University Paper title: The energy efficiency price premium of residential buildings in three Italian regions

Elifnur Meral Associate Professor, Akdeniz University Paper title: The evolution of innovation, productivity and competitiveness relationship in the global markets

Evelyn Cheng Research Fellow at the Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School, and a PhD candidate in economics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Paper title: Gender Segregation in Caring Labor: The Impact of Social Norms on Career Choices

Fahim Nawaz Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Peshawar Paper title: An Empirical Assessment of the Determinants of Radicalization: Evidence from North-Western Pakistan

Faisal Azeem Abbassi Lecturer, Kashmir Institute of Economics, The University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad Paper title: Analyzing Food Security Trends Amidst Environmental Challenges: A Convergence Perspective

Hadia Majid Associate Professor & Chair of Economics, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Paper title: Analyzing Food Security Trends Amidst Environmental Challenges: A Convergence Perspective

Haider Ali Macroeconomic Research Division (Macro Policy Lab), Department of Economics, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Paper title: Monetary Policy in Good Times and in Bad: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

Harun Uasak Professor, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University Paper title: Virtual water trade: theory and an empirical application

Hassan Zaheer Non-Resident Research Associate, Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research (CSCR), Islamabad and PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology, University of Karachi Paper title: Authoritarian Legality of SIFC: An Inquiry into the Dual State and Economic Decision making in Pakistan

Jamal Hussain Head of Department of Economics Karakoram International University (KIU), Gilgit, Pakistan Paper title: Role of greenfield investment, institutional quality, and economic activities on environmental performance in belt & road initiative countries

Junaid Ahmed Senior Research Economist, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Paper: Assessing Pakistan’s Textile Exports under Trade Agreements

Karim Khan Associate Professor, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Paper title: A Review on Fiscal and Debt Policies in Pakistan

Keji Sunday Lecturer, Federal University Oye Ekiti: Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, NG Paper title: Human Capital Skills and Industrial Output Growth in sub-Saharan Africa. An implication for Human Capital Migration: A dynamic system GMM approach

Mahdi Ansari Sharif University of Technology (Assistant Professor), and Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute at the University of Minnesota (Research Fellow) Paper title: Customer Data and the Digital Age

Maryam Dars Khawaja Fareed UEIT, Punjab Paper title: Criminal Justice system initiation-criminal Justice system reusable

Muhammad Adnan Khan PhD Scholar in Economics, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan Paper title: Analyzing the role of innovation and digitalization in accelerating productivity: A comparative analysis of four Asian countries

Muhammad Aftab Assistant Professor, Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad Paper title: Does Central Bank Transparency Curb Foreign Exchange Vulnerability

Muhammad Ashar Khan Dean's Fellow and Lecturer at Habib University Paper title: Impact of Multilateral Aid on Female Access to Education and Employment: A Spatiotemporal Analysis of World Bank (WB) Aid Projects in Pakistan

Muhammad Faisal Ali Research Fellow, Agriculture and Climate Change, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Paper title: Environmental Concerns: Thinking Beyond the Traditional Elections

Muhammad Faraz Riaz Assistant Professor, Government College University Faisalabad Paper title: Infrastructure and innovation: Unveiling the Impact of City Size on Individual Innovation Perceptions from a global dataset

Nadeem Sarwar Assistant Professor FAST-National University Paper title: From Boom to Bust: The Perils of Pro-Cyclicality in Fiscal Policy

Nasir Iqbal Head, Macro Policy Lab and Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, PIDE Paper title: From Boom to Bust: The Perils of Pro-Cyclicality in Fiscal Policy

Noor Ahmed Lecturer at University College Zhob Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS) Paper title: Fiscal decentralization and education index; Evidence from Punjab Pakistan

Quratulain Shafique Postgraduate, Institute of Business Administration Paper title: Teaching of Economics

Rizwan Akhtar Lecture and Chief Proctor, Karakorum International University Paper title: The Economic Contribution of Cherry to the Household Economy in Pakistan. A case study from Lower-Hunza, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan

Sadia Batool Assistant Professor at Karakoram International University (KIU) Paper title: Integrating Human Development in Teacher Training: The Role of Mentored Blended Learning and MOOCs

Sarfraz Ahmad Research Fellow, Agriculture and Climate Change, Research Group, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Paper title: Role of Sufi Shrines in Local Politics: A Case Study of Mitthan Kot Rajanpur, Pakistan

Shagufta Sultana PhD Scholar, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Paper title: Effect of Violent Conflict on Female Decision-Making Power within the Household

Shahla Rani MPhil Student at the Department of Public Policy, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Paper title: Assessing university students' behavior toward environmental sustainability in Pakistan; a case study of Islamabad and Rawalpindi

Shahmeer Mohsin Doctoral Researcher, Paris Sciences et Lettres University Paper title: If You Can’t Beat Them Join Them: Empirical Assessment into How Integrating Conventional Taxis on the Uber App Impacts Conventional Taxi Ridership

Shahzad Ahmad Joint Director, State Bank of Pakistan and PhD Scholar, Institute of Business Administration Karachi Paper title: Bayesian Estimation of a Pragmatic Model for Monetary Policy Analysis: The Case of Pakistan

Zahid Asghar Professor, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad Paper title: Unlocking the Power of Data: Enhancing Public Policy through Advanced Data Infrastructure and Language Pan Model Analysis

Zehra Aftab Assistant Professor, Prince Muhammad University Paper title: Digital bodyguards: Experimental evidence on the role of personal safety on mobility and empowerment