Saman Ayesha Kidwai is a Associate Fellow (Counter Terrorism Centre) at MP-IDSA. She joined the institute in August 2021. She holds a Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Peacebuilding from the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Jamia Millia Islamia. Her areas of interest include political violence, counter-terrorism, and geopolitics, primarily within South Asia, West Asia, and the Horn of Africa. Among her publications across different forums, one of her notable works includes, “The Rise of Iran as a Regional Power,” in the India Quarterly Journal.
Research Analyst, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Ms Saman Ayesha Kidwai’s article ‘Salad Bar Extremism’ has been published in Modern Diplomacy on 26 September 2024.
Christopher Wray, the Director of the FBI, popularised the use of the term Salad Bar Extremism during a Congressional testimony in 2020 to signal a new security threat facing the United State, says Ms Kidwai.
Research Analyst, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Ms Saman Ayesha Kidwai’s article ‘The Baloch attacks and continuing turmoil in Pakistan’ has been published in Hindustan Times on 31 August 2024.
Sunday, August 25 marked the latest escalation in the deadliest phase of the Baloch insurgency when over 70 individuals — members of the security forces and ordinary workers — were systematically targeted in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province and the areas bordering Punjab, says Ms Kidwai.
Pakistan has re-evaluated its counter-terror strategy in the aftermath of the visit of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asif Munir to China in June 2024.