Muhammad Aftab Alam – Executive Director
Muhammad Aftab Alam is a law and policy expert with more than 18 years of work experience in the fields of rule of law, right to information and transparency, freedom of expression and media development, and governance and legislative reforms. Having graduation in law- from International Islamic University (IIU) Islamabad, 1996/2001- and public policy- from the Central European University (CEU), 2006/07-, Mr. Alam is enrolled as Advocate of High Court with the Islamabad Bar Council. As an advocate of High Court, is also leading several petitions in the courts for realization of citizens’ constitutional and human rights through strategic and public interest litigation.
Since 2001, Mr. Alam has been involved in research and advocacy for right to information legislation, online freedom, media – offline and online – law and regulatory reforms, rights of media workers and journalists, safety and security of journalists and ethical challenges in media in Pakistan. He supervised/managed a number of research and advocacy projects of the World Bank, Internews, SAARC Human Resource Development Centre (SHRDC) and National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), Centre for Peace and Development Initiative (CPDI) and Intermedia Pakistan. Besides, he worked with/for a number of international organizations including Internews Network (in Afghanistan and Pakistan), Internews Europe, Denmark-based International Media Support (IMS), Democracy Reporting International (DRI), Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the American Centre for Solidarity with Labour (SC) in different capacities.
Mr. Alam has been part of the efforts to forge multi-stakeholder alliances and networks such as the Alliance for Diversity and Pluralism in Media (ADPM), Pakistan Coalition on Media Legal reforms (PCMLR), Coalition on Right to Information (CRTI), the Pakistan Coalition on Media Safety (PCOMS) and Pakistan Coalition on Ethical Journalism (PCEJ). He has been a visiting faculty at IQRA University, Islamabad and taught various course to its MA level students. Currently, Mr. Alam is teaching as a visiting faculty at law department of Bahria University, Islamabad.
Nida Sultan – Deputy Director (Executive)
Nida is a senior development and operations professional with over 15 years of experience leading donor-funded programmes across education, humanitarian response, and public-sector reform. She has managed large-scale portfolios with organisations including Malala Fund, FCDO/DFID, USAID and UN partners, bringing strong expertise in programme
Salwa Rana – Programme Manager
Salwa Rana is a law graduate and a development professional with over five years’ worth of experience in digital rights, media development, free speech, and online gender-based violence. A graduate of the University of London, she started her career in the corporate sector. Alongside her law practice, she taught several courses for the LLB (Hons) of the University of London International Programmes. Salwa entered the development sector in 2018, working on the creation and operationalisation of a legal aid network “Charahgar” for journalists and media workers that were targeted for their free speech. Her work evolved further into advocacy for media freedom, online privacy, and gender-related issues. She has also trained dozens of journalists and lawyers on the state of media related legislation in Pakistan, along with conducting several workshops on cybersecurity and online safety for social activists and community mobilisers. She has also authored several research papers, focusing on law and policy related to freedom of expression, and routinely contributes to digital news platforms on matters at the intersection of tech and gender. In her current role, she is responsible for leading all research, policy, and advocacy related work along with project implementation.
Hassnain Ghayoor – Program Lead
Hasnain works as a freelance journalist and independent consultant. He began his career as a journalist with The Nation at its Islamabad office immediately after completing his masters in Political Studies from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad. Later, he worked with WAQT News and also with Samaa News for a brief period before joining daily Dawn in Lahore. He also contributed for the Herald magazine and The News On Sunday in the following years. He has also worked as Chief Print & Electronic Media with Associated Press of Pakistan at its head office in Islamabad. In addition to that, he has worked with different national and international development organizations in various capacities. Currently, he works with IRADA as Program Lead for a project to Combat Climate Disinformation in Pakistan and as a freelance contributor with Earthwise, a web-based magazine focusing on clean energy transition.
Fatima Rashid – Program Assistant
Fatima Rasheed holds an MPhil in Public Policy from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), with a research focus on climate change & social policy. At IRADA, she works on the Climate Communication Program to strengthen public understanding and dialogue around climate change in Pakistan. Passionate about linking media and policy, Fatima brings expertise in climate communication, research, and advocacy to support IRADA’s mission of advancing freedom of expression, human rights, and democratic governance.
Zia Khan – Manager Operations
Zia Khan is a graduate from International Islamic University with experience of more than 15 years in managing logistics operations, procurement, accounting and administrative support. Currently, he is working with Institute for Research, Advocacy and Development (IRADA) as Manager Operations and oversees the organization’s daily operations and administration. He is responsible for planning, implementing, managing, and controlling all operations-related activities of the organization.