is an Afghan American conflict researcher, investigative journalist, and writer whose work examines how war reshapes states, institutions, and everyday life. Drawing on nearly two decades of field reporting, primary-source research, and long-form writing, she explores the enduring consequences of armed conflict through the lenses of democracy, displacement, human rights, political memory, and culture. Her work focuses on Afghanistan and the broader Middle East and South and Central Asia, examining the long-term consequences of conflict, international intervention, and U.S. foreign policy for societies emerging from war. She holds a Master of Arts in Journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
A former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan says that talking with the Taliban is necessary, but cautions that a diplomatic return to Kabul would be a “gift” that shouldn’t be given freely.
Her work has been published in The Diplomat, New Lines Magazine, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and translated into Russian, Uzbek, and Bosnian. It has also been widely republished across South Asian media. Her reporting on war and displacement has been cited in studies by universities and international organizations, including the Asia Foundation and Cambridge University Press, and she has participated in key debates on U.S. policy, including discussions on the U.S. war in Afghanistan at the Wilson Center and European platforms such as Forum 2000, Open Society, and One World.
