Zafar Iqbal Yousafzai is Senior Research Associate for South Asia and Central Asia at Strategic Vision Institute (SVI), an Islamabad-based think tank, Pakistan. He has widely published on South and Central Asia, Taliban, Pakistan foreign policy, U.S. policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan, terrorism, great power politics in the region, Afghan peace process, Pak-Afghan relations, and China's interests in Afghanistan. He regularly contributes pieces to various national and international newspapers and magazines. He is regular columnist at Daily Times, Pakistan. He earned his B.A. in Political Science from University of Malakand (Dir), M.A. in Political Science from University of Peshawar, Peshawar, and M. Phil in International Relations from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.