Biography
Raheem has been with the CPPG since 2008 and considers institution building, teaching and research as key to his work at the Centre. He has been part of the team to initiate CPPG’s Quarterly Research & News journal, the Executive MA program and the MPhil program in Public Policy, and is currently working with faculty and students to transform the Quarterly into a student led magazine.
Raheem has a diverse academic and professional background, and a strong interest in active citizenship and community development, which drives his approach towards public policy. He has a bachelors in engineering followed by a decade long experience in information technology, business analysis and project management primarily focusing on developing management information systems in various industry verticals. This was supplemented by a master’s degree in public policy focusing on social change and development. He has also been practically involved with various civil society initiatives focusing on youth, peace and culture: he has served as the General Secretary of the Institute for Peace & Secular Studies for a few years; is a member of the Awami Art Collective focused on public art projects; delves into organic farming; and has run citizens campaigns on Orange Metro Train Project and Enforced Disappearances.
His research interests include youth employability and informal sector along with a more practical interest in the use of technology for development and governance. He has been working on a monograph on Youth Employability since 2019, and is currently enrolled in a PhD program at the CPPG with the intent to explore linkages between informal economy and governance.
Courses Taught
Informal Economy & Urban Development
Political Economy of Public Policy
Political Institutions & Policy Process
Analyzing & Communicating Public Policy
Local Government & Community Development
Policy Analysis: Policy Design
Environmental Issues & Public Policy
ICT for Policy Makers
Theories of Peace Building & Conflict Resolution
GCLA’s Global Course Connect titled – Peace & Conflict Narratives
CPPG Publications
External Publications
De-securitize, De-colonize, Industrialize: A Manifesto for Structural Reforms, Sanjh Publications, 2023
Can Civil Resistance Lead To Deepening of Democracy in Pakistan: The Case of the PDM (Lahore: Pakistan Monthly Review, 2021); https://pakistanmonthlyreview.com/can-pdm-lead-to-deepening-of-democracy-in-pakistan/
Can Pakistan Have a De-radicalised Future? in Rethinking Pakistan: A 21st Century Perspective (Lahore: Folio Books, 2019); https://foliobooks.pk/book-store/folio-books/rethinking-pakistan/
Youth Radicalization in Pakistan (Washington DC: USIP, 2013); https://www.usip.org/publications/2014/02/youth-radicalization-pakistan
https://www.usip.org/publications/2014/02/youth-radicalization-pakistan
Pakistan, Afghanistan & US Relations: Implications and Future Directions co-authored with Saeed Shafqat (Lahore: Centre for Public Policy and Governance, 2011),
Rickshaw & Environmental Pollution: Assessing Punjab Government’s Rickshaw Policy ((Lahore: Centre for Public Policy and Governance, 2009)
Training Needs Assessment of Master’s Level Policy Programs in Pakistan (2009).
Quarterly Research & News since 2008
Energy Crises & Policy (2014)
Institutional Arrangements for Post Disaster Recovery (2010)
Agriculture Policy Implementation (2010).
South Africa Story – An Unfinished Revolution (2019).
Blog Posts The Soul Searches of Corona Pandemic (2020); https://www.scribd.com/document/492739212/The-Soul-Searches-of-Corona
Opinion Pieces
Politics
Can Pakistan Win Peace in Afghanistan (2021); https://www.thefridaytimes.com/spotlight-can-pakistan-win-peace-in-afghanistan/
The issueless Elections, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/565831-issueless-elections
Making of a National Movement, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/565237-making-national-movement
The roots of terrorism, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/563424-roots-terrorism
A reoriented Pakistani State, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/559352-reoriented-pakistani-state
Understanding Disappearances, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/564763-understanding-disappearances
Why media is failing democracy, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/563903-media-failing-democracy
Socio-cultural Development
The Shamelessness of Mediocrity (2019), https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/567950-shamelessness-mediocrity
The making of a beggar nation, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/567391-making-beggar-nation
A Question of Ethics, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/567563-question-ethics
Omni Basant, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/566923-omni-basant
‘Safe’ Basant? Why not, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/561773-safe-basant
Illiteracy and development, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/566306-illiteracy-development
Policy for the Majority, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/566191-policy-majority
The structural nature of extremism, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/563512-structural-nature-extremism
Punjabi and the making of ignorance, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/562109-punjabi-making-ignorance
The Development Narrative, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/560773-development-narrative
The marginality of progressives, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/556312-marginality-of-pakistani-progressives
Religion
Qurbani in the age of Institutions, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/564026-qurbani-age-institutions
Political versus Theological, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/561332-political-vs-theological
When Islam Goes To University, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/559487-when-islam-goes-university
Evolution of Our Religious Culture, https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/559089-evolution-of-religious-and-culture