Zahra Niazi

Zahra Niazi

Research Associate

 
 

Zahra Niazi

Professional Experience

Zahra Niazi is a Research Associate at the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad, Pakistan. Her research interests span Sustainable Development, Peace and Development, and Development Economics. She has contributed to high-impact journals, including in the Environment, Development and Sustainability. She holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies, with a specialisation in Peace, Conflict, and Development, from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan.

Publications

The High Stakes of India’s Military Modernisation Drive

March 5, 2026

New Delhi’s recent defence budget announcement for fiscal year (FY) 2026-27 represents more than just a budgetary jump; it carries important implications for South Asian stability, warranting closer reflection. The allocation of USD 85 billion to defence, with capital expenditure rising by 22 per cent compared with a 17 per cent increase in revenue expenditure, clearly reflects the government’s prioritisation of accelerated military modernisation over routine operational sustainment.

Read More »

Choosing Remittances Over Development?

February 23, 2026

In 2025, according to governmental data, around 32,000 highly-skilled and highly-qualified Pakistanis registered for employment abroad, equivalent to roughly six per cent of the country’s half a million annual graduates. This number, too, represents only a part of the exodus of Pakistan’s advanced human capital nurtured in the country and now being absorbed into foreign economies.

Read More »

Has India’s Prosperity Narrative Long Rested on Overstated Numbers?

January 26, 2026

From the congested slums of Mumbai to the neglected neighbourhoods of Delhi, where the poor struggle to survive each day, the widely-documented ground realities in India have long reflected the country’s weak social and human development conditions. Its ranking of 130ᵗʰ on the Human Development Index (HDI) further speaks of these realities. Against this backdrop, the government has relied heavily on headline GDP figures to project a narrative of prosperity, but growing evidence suggests that this part of the narrative, too, may have been based on overstated numbers

Read More »