Team
Directors
MEHR SALEEM, CEO & Founding Director
Mehr Saleem has over 18 years of experience in representing leading clients (corporations, technology startups and investors) across several jurisdictional boundaries in complex corporate, commercial and financial matters in diverse industry sections. Apart from her general corporate and commercial practice, she has worked extensively with clients in financing and projects, cross border structured financing, telecommunications, insurance, healthcare, technology, securities and capital markets, foreign investment, international joint ventures, banking and finance, employment and labour laws and regulatory matters. She regularly advises local companies and their foreign parent companies on routine as well as complex corporate and regulatory matters and advise the CEOs and corporate boards on legal risk management, sound corporate governance strategy, including procurement policy and advice on contract management and management policy and on among other legal and regulatory regimes, financial and HR matters, foreign exchange and tax related issues.
Ms. Saleem is an expert in the areas of environmental and water law. Her work highlights include: Legal and Policy Expert for Strategic/Sectoral Environment Assessment of Indus Basin being carried out by SMEC International (USA) for the Ministry of Water and Power, Government of Pakistan; Part of the legal team for Restructuring & Capacity Building of EPA, Punjab for Effective Enforcement of Environmental Standards in Punjab Project; Represented Urban Unit (Punjab) in the execution of Khadim-e-Punjab Saaf Pani Program to Supply Safe Drinking Water to Rural and Peri-Urban Areas of Punjab; Team member of water perception survey conducted in collaboration with Chatham House UK and Co-authored report assessing divergent attitudes within South Asia to the issue of water, inter-state water-sharing and localised water management; and, consultant to Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority in the implementation of the UNDP financed Supporting Pro-Poor Governance for Legal Empowerment of the Poor (Right to do Business) Project which involved review and translation of over 300 templates of commercial contracts, forms and notices to enhance awareness of small businesses, individuals and entrepreneurs on contractual rights and liabilities arising from business transactions and increase their understanding on the form and content of commercial contracts and related documents. Ms. Saleem is a team member of a Special Task Force on SMOG constituted by the Chief Minister Punjab (2022). She has also been engaged by WEConnect International as their assessor for certification of women-owned businesses in Pakistan.
Ms. Saleem is a law graduate of the University of London. She holds a post-graduate professional diploma in law from the Inns of Court School of Law, London, and is a Barrister-at-Law of Lincoln’s Inn, London. She has also completed diplomas in Negotiation & Dispute Resolution and Mediation & Conflict Management from Harvard Law School (Program on Negotiation).
Ms. Saleem is a trained mediator and has been notified by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) as an SECP approved mediator and part of the first ever panel of mediators maintained by the SECP.
MARYAM MAMDOT, Founding Director
Ms. Mamdot, an Advocate of the High Courts of Pakistan is a Barrister-at-Law of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and a law graduate (LL.B Honours) of the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. Ms. Mamdot also holds a post-graduate professional diploma from the College of Law, London.
Ms. Maryam Mamdot has over 15 years of experience in contentious and non-contentious corporate and commercial laws in Pakistan comprising general advice, opinions, drafting and negotiating contracts, joint ventures, due-diligence, structuring and leading complex and high value transactions and dispute resolution. Ms. Mamdot has undertaken extensive work in the areas of strategic and foreign investment, public and private sector projects, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, intellectual property and e-commerce, environmental laws, employment and labour laws, non-profit organisations, private international law, banking and finance laws, regulatory, capital markets and securities laws across wide-ranging industries including oil and gas, energy, construction and real estate, manufacturing, media and information technology, retail, hospitality, telecommunications, and health care.
Advisors
NICHOLAS DAVID ROBSON, International Expert, Security, Justice and Human Rights
Nicholas David Robson is a senior Security and Justice Development Consultant with over 20 years of experience in researching, designing, implementing and evaluating justice/rule of law, security and judicial reform, human rights, and oversight and accountability programmes and projects in international settings.
Between 2003-2012, Nicholas led the rule of law/justice sections of three EU CSDP (Common Security and Defence Policy) missions, including EUCAP Somalia, where he was responsible for managing mixed (international/national staff) legal teams. He has extensive experience in capacity building of justice institutions, including through training, coaching and mentoring. Currently, Nicholas is leading a major human rights investigation project to document large-scale human rights violations.
Mr. Nicholas specialises in working in fragile and conflict-affected states, providing leadership and strategic advisory services to support governments and civil society to meet key development and stabilisation objectives. He has worked extensively in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Balkans, and his clients have included the EU and UK government. In addition, he worked in Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya, Seychelles, Palestine, Pakistan, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Hercegovina on multiple Rule of Law, Human Rights, Governance, Criminal Justice Reforms programs. He served as International Advisor on UK Funded, Justice System Support Program in Pakistan between 2018-20
Finally, Nicholas is an international criminal law specialist, having worked for the UN at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as a judge’s advisor, and subsequently as defence counsel at the ICTY (Prosecutor v Rasim Delic case) and International Criminal Court. He has Law LLB (Hons) degree, and received Bar Vocational Course from Bar of England and Wales.
ALI JAN KHAN, Advisor, Health, Education, Finance and Public Policy
Ali Jan Khan is a senior-level professional civil servant belonging to Pakistan Administrative Services (PAS) formerly District Management Group (DMG), who has recently completed his NMC training. He has more than 22 years’ experience of working across Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including Ex-FATA/ Newly merged districts) provinces of Pakistan. His academic career has a corporate outlook while professional career is deeply entrenched into Public Sector. The blend reflects his desire to have taste of both worlds. He has done Masters in Financial Economics (MFE) from Said Business School, University of Oxford. He also holds degrees of MBA, MA (Economics) and Law. His professional experience includes District Coordination Officer (DCO) positions of two districts vis-à-vis Sheikhupura and Okara. District, as the prime policy execution level of the Government, allowed him to supervise more than 20,000 employees and manage an annual outlay of £ 30 Million. He has pioneered some of reforms brought about in the organizational structure of Lahore Development Authority. He has designed number of deep lasting interventions for bringing about change in the public sector schools in a World Bank funded Education Sector Reform Program. His three years working as a key member (Additional Secretary/ PSO) of Chief Minister, Punjab’s team, has provided him with an opportunity, at the highest level, to assist Chief Minister in complex decision making addressing major policy formulation, evaluation and institutional/ governance issues.
He has also advised multi-year DFID funded education sector program in spheres of Governance, District Transformation, Social Inclusion and Organizational Restructuring. During, his experience as Secretary, Primary & Secondary Healthcare Department, Govt. of the Punjab, he has introduced various deep-lasting interventions and reforms in the fields of preventive and public healthcare, primary healthcare, secondary healthcare and drug control. In addition, he has also held charge of Public School Support Program under which management of more than 4,300 poor performing public schools has been handed over to private sector catering for enrolment of more than 550,000. He has also supported the Government of KP in strengthening governance and public financial management paradigms through DFID (FCDO) funded projects. He remained instrumental in formulation of ADP policy of P&D Dept (KP) besides rationalization of ADP resulting into Rs 203 Billion reduction in throw forward. Currently, he is serving Punjab Government as Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department
ZOHA WASEEM, Advisor, Policing, Security and Criminal Justice
Dr Zoha Waseem is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Warwick (UK) and a Co-Coordinator of the international network of academics, the Urban Violence Research Network. She is the author of the book “Insecure Guardians: Enforcement, Encounters and Everyday Policing in Postcolonial Karachi” (published by Hurst and Oxford University Press in 2022). She is also co-editor of the volume, “Southern and Postcolonial Perspectives on Policing, Security, and Social Order” (Bristol University Press, 2023).
Zoha is broadly interested in policing and security cultures, pluralisation of policing, urban insecurity, criminal violence, militarisation, migration, and postcolonial perspectives on policing, security and criminal justice. Her research has been published in the Journal of Urban Affairs, Policing and Society, and the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. She frequently contributes her commentary and analysis to news media platforms in Pakistan as well as international news and academic outlets.
SHAH SALMAN KHAN, Advisor, Correctional Services
Mr. Khan is an experienced professional with nearly 20 years of expertise working with the government and reputable international non-government organizations on correctional services i.e. Prisons and Reclamation & Probation.
Mr. Khan began his career in 2004 as a Superintendent of Prisons at the Inspectorate of Prisons Government of Khyber Pakhtukhwa. During his ten-year tenure in the KP prison system, Mr. Khan held various positions, such as Assistant Inspector General and Deputy Director of Prisons. In 2009, he was seconded to the UN Mission in Sudan as a Corrections Advisor.
In 2014, Mr. Khan joined UNODC Pakistan as a Criminal Justice Expert. In 2017, he became a Senior Corrections Advisor at Adam Smith International’s Justice System Support Programme (JSSP) and later served as Deputy Team Lead. While at JSSP, Mr. Khan developed the Corrections Policy for KP, which emphasized provisions for alternatives to imprisonment and led to the drafting of a new probation and parole law that was passed by the legislature in 2020.
From 2017 to 2021, Mr. Khan worked as an international consultant with UNODC Indonesia and UN CTED on the Management of Violent Extremist Prisoners (VEPs) and Prevention of Radicalization to Violence in Prisons. He worked on the joint UN project on VEPs in Kazakhstan, Uganda, and Tunisia.
Currently, Mr. Khan serves as a Project Coordinator with UNODC Tajikistan for the RFTF detention program. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University.
UMAR KHAN, Advisor, Rule of Law, Prosecution and Human Rights
Umar Khan has over 15 years of professional experience in Pakistan, all linked to criminal justice reform in numerous capacities as project lead, legal expert, policy adviser, drafter and reviewer of laws, trainer and legal practitioner. Apart from studying Terrorism during his Masters at University College London, he has considerable experience of working with both government and non-government entities in organized and serious crimes. Umar is a barrister with extensive experience of prosecuting and defending criminal cases in Pakistani courts. Amongst others, he remained on the defense team in various high-profile criminal cases including Benazir Bhutto’s assassination case. He has represented clients in over 100 death penalty cases.
In the development sector, he has executed various projects successfully as a team lead, technical adviser, trainer and evaluator. He recently led a team of experts in FCDO’s UK-Pakistan serious and organized crime project (UPSCALE). The project aimed to increase ability of criminal justice institutions (FIA in particular) in Pakistan to share and receive crime and criminal related information with the UK. Previously, he was the principal investigator in a USIP project to map the provision of fundamental rights in Pakistan’s war-ravaged tribal belt post-merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (https://www.usip.org/publications/2021/04/extending-constitutional-rights-pakistanstribal-areas). He is currently a member of the International Pool of Specialist Consultants for Commonwealth Secretariat’s Countering Violent Extremism Unit. Additionally, he is ABAROLI’s National Consultant for Counter-Terrorism Financing (CFT) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) programme in Pakistan. The programme is providing technical assistance to federal and provincial institutions of Pakistan to plug the gaps in CFT/AML regime and improving the capacity of judges, prosecutors, and investigators in this area. Umar is linked to academia as well. He has been teaching International Human Rights law at Universal College Lahore since 2008. He founded the Centre for Human Rights (https://cfhr.com.pk/) at the University in 2012-13. His experience in UN treaties includes reviewing Pakistan’s compliance to various International treaties (including CAT, CEDAW, ICCPR, CRC etc.). He also authored Pakistan’s first State Report to CRC Optional Protocol on Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. He is also the author of a Criminal Procedure Code and Evidence Law guide for prosecutors.
SANA KHURSHID, Advisor, Social Inclusion
Sana Khurshid is a lawyer (LL.M) and an activist for persons with disabilities (PWDs). She has served as a consultant, researcher, motivational speaker and has lectured on disability and related civil rights topics. She is amongst the leading campaigners for the rights of PWDs, and advocates for Disability inclusive policies.
Amongst her more notable achievements, Ms. Khurshid served as an integral member of the Lahore Development Authority’s Advisory Committee for PWDS. The Committee successfully implemented legislative reforms for improving accessibility for various PWDS, including persons with mobility, sight, and hearing disabilities.
Ms. Khurshid similarly has litigated for PWDS’ meaningful accessibility before the Lahore High Court, which has led to tangible reforms within society. She has worked with the relevant Department of the Government of Punjab, namely the Social Welfare & Bait-ul-Maal Department, in an effort to fundamentally reform the rights and entitlements of PWDs, through an Act that will cover all of Punjab. Her work earned her the ‘Pride of Pakistan’ Award in December 2021 at the Governor House.
Ms. Khurshid also has advocated for disability rights and inclusion in the workplace in the corporate sector, including being Total PARCO’s Road Safety Ambassador.
BAITULLAH KHAN, Advisor, Police & Organized Crimes, and National Coordinator
Mr. Khan is a highly experienced development sector professional with over a decade of experience in various fields, including Governance, Criminal Justice System, Rule of Law, Predicate Offences & Organized Crimes, Gender Mainstreaming, and Conflict Analysis & Peace Building. He has worked with several reputed international organizations and consulting firms, including International Alert, World Bank, Coffey International Development, Adam Smith International, and UN Peace Operations, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
During his career, Mr. Khan has achieved numerous notable accomplishments. As a Program Officer-Research in International Alert (IA), he contributed to multiple conflict resolution and peace building projects. He also worked as a Policy and Institutional Reforms Consultant with Coffey International Development (Tetra Tech) on the FCDO funded Peace Support Program (PSP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Key activities within his role include, producing high level Policy and Procedural documents and legislative reviews of legal framework for sustainable reforms related to Police, Prosecution, Reclamation & Probation and Prisons.
In his role as Technical Advisor Police (Investigation and Accountability Bodies) with Adam Smith International on Justice System Support Program (JSSP), Mr. Khan worked with Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on high-level indicators to reduce the acquittal rate in serious crimes such as Homicide, Kidnapping for Ransom, and Serious Sexual Violence, and improve the accountability mechanisms through policy, procedural, and operational reforms.
Currently, Mr. Khan is serving as a National Program Manager-Police with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. He is also Pakistan’s Focal Person for United Nations Conventions against Transnational Organized Crimes (UNTOC). As a National Focal Person for UNODC, Mr. Khan played a crucial role in launching the Self-Assessment & Review mechanism by the Government of Pakistan, enabling Pakistan to become the first country in Asia, and second globally after Mexico, to enter into the self-assessment mechanism to review the legislative, policy and procedural framework against transnational organized crimes.
Mr. Khan is also a representative for UNODC Gender Global Forum and has been engaged with UN Peace Operations on special assignments related to Intelligence Led Policing and Cross-Border Organized Crimes. His extensive technical knowledge of complex Governance, Rule of Law, and Criminal Justice issues is complemented by his strong program and donors’ management skills. He is proficient in monitoring and evaluation, client/donor reporting, financial allocation/monitoring, which enables him to execute complex and challenging development programs efficiently.
Mr. Khan completed his Bachelor’s (Hons) degree in Sociology and Anthropology from the Lahore University of Management Sciences in 2012. During his time as a student, he participated in an Exchange Program to the United States, where he took specialized courses & Trainings on complex socio-political issues and the need for sustainable reforms and change. This opportunity allowed him to gain a broader perspective and a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by developing countries and the importance of implementing effective solutions.
MUHAMMAD SAAD, Advisor, Senior Program Manager
Mr. Saad has seven years of experience in delivering high-impact public sector reforms in Asia Pacific, including projects on democratic governance, healthcare, social protection and rule of law. He specializes in navigating regulatory and political systems to support priorities, including for organizations such as Google, ADB and FCDO. He has led strategic engagement strategies for senior stakeholders, including ministerial and parliamentary interactions in South Asia. He has also headed cross-functional teams with development financing and policy analysis objectives. His work has improved access to healthcare for marginalized citizens, mobilized disaster relief, and increased citizens’ oversight of government performance. He recently completed his public policy graduate studies from National University of Singapore.
MUHAMMAD ALI NEKOKARA, Advisor, Governance and Public Policy
Mr. Nekokara is a distinguished leader with over 25 years of experience in the Civil and Police Service of Pakistan, where he has demonstrated exceptional expertise in the areas of Rule of Law, Human Rights, Police Operations, Criminal Investigation, Security, and Criminal Justice System. He is widely recognized for his ability to engage and collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, including citizens, communities, political executives, bureaucracy, judiciary, lawyers, media, and civil society.
For the past decade, Mr. Nekokara has been at the forefront of criminal justice and rule of law reform programs in Pakistan, working closely with the UK Government, FCDO, British High Commission, and leading consulting firms such as Adam Smith International and GIZ. He recently completed his role as Strategic Director for the UK-Pakistan serious crime and law enforcement (UPSCALE) program, where he facilitated criminal history and data sharing to enhance community safety on both sides. He also played a pivotal role in the development and implementation of rule of law roadmaps in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, under the same funding.
Mr. Nekokara’s expertise extends to issues related to transnational organized crime, where he has worked as an Independent Consultant for Transnational Organized Crimes-Global Initiative, advising on policy briefs related to illicit financial flows, illegal immigration, and illicit drugs in Pakistan. He also served as an Advisor for the National Initiative against Organized Crimes in Pakistan, playing a critical role in implementing reforms to address this issue.
In addition, Mr. Nekokara has worked with several international organizations as an independent consultant, including UNODC, UNDP, and USIP, providing valuable insights on complex Governance, Criminal Justice, and Rule of Law issues in Pakistan. He has also authored numerous publications on a range of topics related to governance, accountability, rule of law, and criminal justice in Pakistan, demonstrating his in-depth knowledge and understanding of these critical issues.