Ayesha Siddiqa
Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa (Urdu: عائشہ صدیقہ) (b. April 7, 1966) is a civilian military analyst and political commentator from Pakistan. She is also a regular op-ed contributor to Dawn News Papers, and before that to Daily Times. Her articles appear every Friday. She previously served as professor of Military Science at the John Hopkins University.
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[edit] Career
Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa Agha 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.
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 Pakistans defense establishment. She also worked as a Deputy Director in audit Defence Services Lahore Cantt. [1]
She 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,[2] was released in April 2007.
On June 13, 2007, during her latest book launch at International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Siddiqa said that she is not a politician and hers is an academic piece of work. She went on to add that she used Pakistan as a case study. She believes that this book is not a political thriller, rather it carries a broader issue of civil-military relationship in Pakistan. She is a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (South Asia Studies Program), teaching Pakistan's political economy and the history of Pakistan.
[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"[3]
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?"[4]
[edit] References
- ^ http://pakistanherald.com/Profile/Dr.-Ayesha-Siddiqa-Agha-149
- ^ Book publisher Pluto Press
- ^ BBC Analysis: Downsizing Pakistan's army, By Mazhar Zaidi
- ^ Kashmir militants feel the squeeze, By Barbara Plett
