CGR Profile and Team
CGR is a forum for studies and debate on strategic and tactical issues related with good governance and the rule of law. It is a non-governmental civil society advocacy centre dedicated to reforms in the justice and governance sectors.
As an independent think tank, CGR sets its own agenda, publishing and disseminating its findings regularly for national and global audience. Using an interdisciplinary approach, CGR brings together rule of law, justice and governance experts, researchers and internationally renowned professionals to animate its debate and research activities.
Headed by Tariq Khosa, Former Federal Secretary Narcotics Control Division, Director General Federal Investigation Agency and Inspector-General Police Balochistan, CGR aims to stand out as one of the rare Pakistani think tanks to position itself at the very heart of the debate on governance and justice issues.
CGR focuses on advocacy, research and studies in the following areas:
- Governance and Rule of Law
- Public policy
- Policing and Justice Sectors
- Serious and Organised Crimes
- Counterterrorism and Counter-Extremism (CT and CE)
Meanwhile, the National Initiative against Organised Crime (NIOC) launched in November 2019 continues as a Project from the platform of the Centre for Governance Research (CGR).
CGR Team
Tariq Khosa
Director
Tariq Khosa has been actively involved in the law enforcement sphere since 1973. During about four decades, he served in various supervisory and command positions in the Police Service of Pakistan, and has been engaged in structural and operational reforms in the policing and justice sectors. He is currently the Director of the Centre for Governance Research (CGR-Pakistan) and a member of the Board of Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC).
He continues to share his expertise and is regularly asked to provide advice to governments and institutions such as the United Nations and the World Bank on issues linked to organised crime and terrorism. He was, until recently, associated with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as Strategic Advisor on Rule of Law and Criminal Justice for Pakistan.
In October 2020, Tariq joined the Board of Directors of the Vienna-based Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
Since 2018, he is a Member of the Police Reforms Committee constituted by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan under the Law and Justice Commission.
In 2018, Tariq served as Member of Prime Minister’s Task Force on Austerity and Restructuring of Government.
In 2019, he launched the National Initiative against Organized Crime (NIOC) in Pakistan.
Before his retirement in 2011, he was Federal Secretary of Narcotics Control Ministry in Pakistan. He formulated the new National Anti-Narcotics Policy, which the Cabinet approved in July 2010. He was also co-chair of the Governance Committee of the UNODC Country Programme on Rule of Law, Criminal Justice and Healthcare (2010-14).
In his previous roles, Tariq served as Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency in 2009. As head of the National Central Bureau with INTERPOL he was elected Member for Asia in the Executive Committee and contributed to international police cooperation. During this time, he was actively involved in the establishment of the Interpol Global Complex of Innovation in Singapore.
Prior to this, Tariq held several positions within the Pakistan Government and was Director General of the National Police Bureau in 2008, which allowed him to work actively on various police reform initiatives at national level. He was part of the Working Group that drafted the Counterterrorism National Action Plan launched by the Government of Pakistan in 2015.
Tariq holds a Master’s degree in Defense and Strategic Studies from the National Defense College, Islamabad, Pakistan. He was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow under Fulbright Exchange Program at the Graduate School of Public Affairs in University of Washington Seattle, USA, in 1987-88.
He is the author of two books: “The Faltering State: Pakistan’s Internal Security Landscape” (Oxford University Press, 2017); and “Inconvenient Truths: Pakistan’s Governance Challenges” (Lightstone Publishers, 2019). His first book won the national Best Book of Year Award in Non-Fiction Category in 2019.
Email: tariqkhosa@gmail.com
Tariq Parvez
Expert, Serious and Organized Crimes, Former DG FIA
Staring his career in 1973 as Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr. Tariq Parvez served the police service of Pakistan for more than 35 years with distinction and honor. His contributions in the field of counter terrorism as a police officer are unparalleled. He has been awarded the prestigious national award of Sitara- e- Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) by the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for his immensely valuable contributions to peace and security of the country. He has served as head of the Federal Investigation Agency and also as National Coordinator, National Counter Terrorism Authority. His contributions as head of the Counter Terrorism Department of Punjab laid the foundations for an organized and highly professional counter terrorism efforts in the province of Punjab, which is host to about 100 million people. He has also served as Home Minister of the province of Punjab. He advises multiple international organizations in the field of counter terrorism, investigations, organized crimes and police reforms.
Email: tparvez633@hotmail.com
Samina Ahmed
Expert on National Security
Samina Ahmed is Senior Adviser Asia and Project Director, South Asia, for the International Crisis Group. Her work focuses on security and stability issues in South Asia, including security sector and criminal justice reform; insurgencies, militancy and jihadism; democratization, authoritarianism and governance; refugees and humanitarian crises; and the risks of regional conflict
Ahmed has a Ph.D. in Political Science and an MA in International Relations from the Australian National University. Prior to joining Crisis Group, she was a research fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and senior research analyst at the Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad. She was a Peace Fellow at New York University, Abu Dhabi, and a visiting researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC, the Stockholm Peace Research Institute, and Oxford University.
Email: sahmed@crisisgroup.org
Muhammad Ali Nekokara
Expert on Governance
Muhammad Ali Nekokara has over 25 years of experience as a manager and a leader in the Civil and the Police Service of Pakistan and has served in various police operations and staff assignments in Punjab and Islamabad. He is currently working as Team Lead with Adam Smith International on a Rule of Law Program and supporting the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the implementation of the Rule of Law Roadmap. He has also worked with the Government of Sindh and played a major role in the development of the Rule of Law Roadmap which has been approved by the cabinet for implementation. He has worked for multiple international organizations including UNODC, UNDP, USIP, GIZ, Global Initiative and DAI. He has authored publications for PILDAT on Police Order 2002, Police Budgets in Pakistan- A comparative Analysis, Policy Recommendations for Police Reforms, Media and Police, and for PILDAT/UNDP on SDG 16 relating Accountability and Corruption. He also contributes as an Op-ed writer to Dawn, The Express Tribune and The Nation. He holds master degree in Public Administration from Harvard University and in Criminal Justice Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
He can be accessed at: mali1803@gmail.com
Saroop Ijaz
Expert on Law and Human Rights
Saroop Ijaz is a lawyer and a Senior Counsel for Asia, Human Rights Watch (HRW). He is also a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). He has been appointed as amicus curiae in many significant constitutional cases such as the YouTube ban, Christian divorce act, and the challenge to the local government act 2013 amongst others. He has formerly been the Chairperson of the Lahore High Court Bar Committee on International Human Rights. He has been a consultant and an advisor for the European Union, British Council, International Commission for Jurists, and various other organizations.
Email: ijazs@hrw.org
Hassan Sardar
Manager Administration and Finance
Hassan Sardar obtained his degree of MBA (Finance) from the Comsats Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad. Before that, he did his BBA (Hons.) in Finance from the University of Sargodha. He attended various workshops, seminars and conferences including USAID “Grantee orientation workshop” and “Operations Focused Training,” in Islamabad, and “Seminar on Dynamics of Youth and Terrorism: Understanding and Countering the Issue” in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mr. Sardar is a development professional with more than 12 years of professional experience in the Gulf and Pakistan in various fields including financial management, human resource management, and administration. He worked with many national and international organizations and successfully implemented many development projects in Pakistan. Besides it, Mr. Sardar is an excellent team builder with strong communication skills. He is performing the core management function at CGR.
Email: hassansardar.nioc@gmail.com