Ayesha Siddiqa Agha
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Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa Agha (Urdu: عائشہ صدیقہ آغا) is an independent security analyst and strategic affairs columnist of Pakistan.
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[edit] Education
She did her doctorate from King's College London in 1996 and has worked on issues varying from military technology, defense decision-making, nuclear deterrence, arms procurement, arms production to civil-military relations in South Asia.
[edit] Career
Dr Siddiqa has been a civil servant for 11 years during which she was asked to work as the Director of Naval Research with Pakistan Navy making her the first civilian and a woman to work at that position in Pakistan's defense establishment.She also worked as a Deputy Director in Audit Defence Services Lahore Cantt
She is also a Ford Fellow and was the 'Pakistan Scholar' at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at Washington, DC for 2004-05.
Dr. Siddiqa is also an author, and her books include, Pakistan's Arms Procurement and Military Buildup, 1979-99: In Search of a Policy (Palgrave Press, 2001). Her recent book, Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy [1], was released in April 2007. She has also written commissioned papers on small arms and light weapons proliferation, problems of governance and India-Pakistan relations.
Moreover, she has contributed to various international journals like the Journal for Defence and Peace Economics, Jane's Defence Weekly and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
Dr Ayesha Siddiqa in London for book launch at IISS on 13th June 2007 she said in her talk that she is not a politician and she has written an academic piece of work. she also mentioned that she used Pakistan as a case study. She also mentioned that this book is not a political thriller, it is carrying broarder issue of civil military relationship in Pakistan. She is a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, teaching political economy and history of Pakistan.
[edit] Ayesha's Books
- Ayesha Siddiqa Agha, (1996), Light Weapons Manufacture in the Public and Private Sectors (Project Light Weapons Working Paper), British American Security Information Council, ISBN 1874533245
- Ayesha Siddiqa Agha, (2001), Pakistan's Arms Procurement and Military Buildup, 1979-99: In Search of a Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 0333731727
- Ayesha Siddiqa Agha, (2007), Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy, Pluto Press, ISBN 0745325459
[edit] Quotes
1.Response to the announcement by Pakistan's army high command that it is to cut 50,000 troops:
"It will only reduce the personal staff of army officers and the money saved from these cuts will probably be spent on more weapons. So in effect I do not consider these changes as major strategic move"[2]
2.Response when asked about Pakistans commitment to stop helping Kashmiri militants:
"I question whether there is an intent to completely disband them, because how else do you talk to India?"[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Book publisher Pluto Press
- ^ BBC Analysis: Downsizing Pakistan's army, By Mazhar Zaidi
- ^ Kashmir militants feel the squeeze, By Barbara Plett [1]
