Syed Kausar Abbas, the Founding Director of SSDO, holds 15 plus years’ of progressive and diversified experience as a social and human rights activist. He is deeply involved in various facets of sustainable development, particularly in advocacy, accountability and transparency, legislative governance, participatory local governance, rural development, campaigning, public relations, media and project coordination in different roles and contexts with development sector organizations of national and international repute. He is an excellent communicator with well-developed media skills, including social media. Kausar is a strong organizer who regularly multi-tasks between managing different projects.

Syed Kausar Abbas

Muhammad Shahid Khan
Senior Director Programs and Operations

More than 15 years of professional experience in the field of Academic & Action Research, Advocacy and Lobbying, Capacity Building, Program Development & Management, and writing in newspapers in various domains especially, Peace, Democracy, and Human Security, Governance Structures, Decentralization, Inclusive Governance, Parliamentary Procedures, Legislative Development, Rule of Law, Transparency & Accountability and Civic Rights & Responsibilities. The aim is to promote knowledge, peace, development, and democracy through advocacy, academics, and research endeavors.


Email: shahid@ssdo.org.pk

Muhammad Shahid Khan

Highly skilled and qualified Research and Training expert with fifteen years’ experience of working with International and National organizations, both as an employee and as a consultant. Have designed, developed, and delivered highly admired training programs in major cities as well as numerous remote areas of Pakistan. Well versed with training methodologies and use of relevant communication technologies. A brilliant team player with outstanding inter-personal and dispute resolution skills, and a confident engaging personality. She has done M.Phil. Anthropology, Quaid-I-Azam University Islamabad, 2009 (with scholarship distinction). Thesis in Medical Anthropology on “Alternative healing practices” Her Expertise are in the field of Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, Report writing, Training, Teaching and Projects.



Email: maryam@ssdo.org.pk

Maryam Jawad

Mr. Shah has over 20 years of experience in development & corporate sectors in the field of Financial Accounting & Management, Financial Reporting, Costing, Grant management, Compliance, Capacity Assessment, Capacity Building, Financial Trainings, Project Budgeting, Partnership Management, and general administration. His knowledge & expertise has been acquired by working in senior positions at International organizations like Trocaire, SAARC Business Association funded by SAARC Development Fund, and National organizations like Sungi Development Foundation. He has attained international and national level training in financial management, financial reporting, financial monitoring, and supply chain management.

Zahid H. Shah

Wasaf Anwar is an experienced Admin & Finance Officer with over 8 years of professional experience in the NGO sector. He has worked extensively in administration, financial management, procurement, coordination, and operational support for development and humanitarian projects. With strong organizational and communication skills, he is committed to ensuring efficient office operations and maintaining high standards of accountability and compliance within organizational processes.

Wasaf Anwar

Having 21years of experience teaching English to O/A levels in renowned schools  of Islamabad such as Beacon house, City School, Sheikh Zayed, LGS , Frobels and Roots. She is also a teacher trainer and  IELTS/SAT trainer as well and has assisted many students in achieving  their desired results. She has done her Bachelors in French, Arabic and English followed my Masters in EPM and also holds a certification in Instructional Leadership from UMass, USA.

Sana Zafar

Erum Mashkoor is a Program Officer in Hafizabad with SSDO, bringing a diverse background in communication, gender advocacy, and project management. Hailing from Lahore, she holds a Master’s degree in Mass Communication and is currently pursuing an M.Phil in Media Studies. Erum has previously served as a Gender and Women’s Rights Focal Person at ActionAid, a District Youth Counselor with CPDI Pakistan, and spent five years as a Territory Sales Manager at Unilever Pakistan. Her multidisciplinary experience equips her with a unique perspective on community development, youth engagement, and program implementation, combining strategic insight with practical field expertise.

**Email: erummashkoor1@gmail.com**

Erum Mashkoor 

Naveed has working experience with corporate sector organizations. He is now working as Senior Officer Communication to develop website, layout and production design for brochures, advertisements, cover pages, and formatting of reports in SSDO.

**Email: naveed@ssdo.org.pk**

Naveed Ashraf

Khalfan Ahmed Khattak is a US State Department-sponsored Legislative Fellow and Professional Fellow of Norwegian Center for Human Rights, University of Oslo Norway. He is a seasoned development professional with over 17 years of distinguished experience in governance, electoral processes, parliamentary and legislative affairs and governance reforms, public policy, and human rights. He has built an exceptional career working across various provincial and national public and elected institutions in Pakistan.
He possesses a strong track record of high-level negotiations and engagement with senior state authorities, civil society stakeholders, media, governance bodies, provincial and national parliamentarians, ministeries, public institutions, election authorities, and human rights organizations and institutions .
For eight years, he served as Provincial Coordinator for Democracy Reporting International (DRI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), successfully implementing multiple projects funded by DFID/FCDO, the European Union, the British Council, and the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His work focused on Consolidating Democratic Stability in Pakistan through democratic governance reforms, parliamentary strengthening, GSP Plus compliance, and citizen engagement. 
He has contributed significantly to strengthening democratic and elected institutions through leading national and international organizations, including DAI, CGPA, CPDI, Blue Veins, UNDP, and the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).
Throughout his career, he has demonstrated excellence in program management, reporting, event organization, stakeholder engagement, capacity building, election observation, CSOs, HRIs strengthening and ensuring compliance with project deliverables. He maintains a sharp focus on political and social developments at both national and provincial levels, providing strategic advice to his organizations on emerging opportunities and challenges.

Meet Our Team

Syed Kausar Abbas

Muhammad Shahid Khan

Maryam Jawad

Zahid H. Shah

Wasaf Anwar

Sana Zafar

Erum Mashkoor

Naveed Ashraf

Khalfan Ahmed Khattak

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