Dr Gul Dad

Dr Gul Dad is Director Research and HR at the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), Islamabad, where he leads the Research and Publication Division. One of the pioneers of PICSS, he brings nearly three decades of experience in defence and security analysis, foreign policy research, applied policy analysis, teaching, and educational management. He previously served for almost eight years as a Defence and Security Analyst with the Ministry of Defence, Government of Pakistan, analysing national, regional and international political, economic and security developments and preparing strategic assessments and policy briefings.
At PICSS, Dr Dad leads multidisciplinary research teams and directs regular security assessments and policy analyses for national and international stakeholders, including the diplomatic community. His areas of expertise include militancy, insurgency, counter-terrorism, counter-extremism, political violence, and security dynamics in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and wider South Asian region. His research also examines the political and societal dimensions of security, including religious education, intolerance and extremism. He has authored and co-authored policy-oriented publications on these subjects, including research undertaken for Pakistan’s National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA).
He served as Project Director and Principal Investigator of a joint PICSS–RDDC research project on Afghanistan, published in 2024 as Post-August 2021: Taliban Governance, Security Dynamics and the Road to Stability in Afghanistan (Dad, G., Khan, A., & Mathisen, J. V.). His other publications include a book chapter on the financial structures of madrassahs in Pakistan and research on madrassah reform, public perception of CPEC and the implications of intolerance and extremism for the political system.
His broader research interests encompass political belief systems, political tolerance and participation, governance, public policy, and the relationship between political and security dynamics. He holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Peshawar, an MBA from the Virtual University of Pakistan, and an MPhil in Government and Public Policy from the National Defence University, Islamabad and Ph. D in Governance and Public Policy from the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad.