Azad Kashmir Appoints First Woman Chief Economist

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has appointed its first woman chief economist in the Planning and Development (P&D) Department.

According to a notification issued by the Services and General Administration Department on Thursday, Mahnaz Faheem has been promoted from BS-19 to BS-20 and appointed to the post.

The promotion was approved by Selection Board-I, chaired by the chief secretary, during its meeting on December 9 last year.

Mahnaz Faheem was previously serving as chief of section in the P&D Department. She joined the AJK civil service in 1997 as a planning officer after completing a Master of Business Administration degree from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad.

In 2000, she earned a master’s degree in gender and development from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. She was among the first two Chevening scholars from AJK.

Earlier, she received a gold medal in BSc with double mathematics and physics from the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. She also worked on two UNDP-funded projects after the 2005 AJK earthquake.

In a statement, she thanked the government for the trust placed in her and said the appointment was both an honor and a responsibility.

She said women’s representation in senior policy-making roles is important for balanced development and added that she would focus on evidence-based, fair, and gender-sensitive economic planning that delivers real results.