CISS International Conference on Nuclear Deterrence in the Age of Emerging Technologies
AGENDA
SPEAKERS
Welcome and Closing Remarks
Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi
Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi is the founding Executive Director of the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), Islamabad. With a distinguished diplomatic career spanning 36 years (1970–2006), he served in senior ambassadorial roles and key postings at the United Nations in New York and Vienna, as well as in Washington D.C., London, Paris, and Brussels. Following his tenure as Pakistan’s Ambassador to Austria and the IAEA, he served as Adviser on International Affairs to the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). Ambassador Naqvi continues to actively contribute to policy discourse through public speaking and media engagement, with a focus on international strategic issues and nuclear diplomacy.
Special Session
General (R) Zubair Mahmood Hayat
Keynote Address
General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, NI (M), (Retd) is the former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), Pakistan, having served as the country’s top military officer from 2016 to 2019. A four-star general in the Pakistan Army, he previously held key appointments such as Director General Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Chief of General Staff (CGS), and Commander of 31 Corps, Bahawalpur. Commissioned into the Artillery Regiment in 1980, he is a graduate of Fort Sill, USA; Command and Staff College, UK; and the National Defence University, Islamabad. Renowned for his strategic acumen, General Hayat played a pivotal role in strengthening Pakistan’s national security architecture.King’s College London (MA War Studies); Carleton University and the University of Toronto – Canada (Doctoral Studies - Ford Foundation Fellow in Dual Expertise: Arms Control-International Security/Soviet-East European Studies).
Dr Bilal Zubair
Moderator
Dr. Bilal Zubair is Director Research, CISS. He is also the author of Chinese Soft Power and Public Diplomacy in the United States (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024) and has taught at the National Defence University and NUST. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from Quaid-e-Azam University. His research focuses on soft power, diplomacy, and China's role in global affairs.
Day I – Session I
Mr. Khalid Banuri
Moderator: Emerging Technologies and Concept of Deterrence in Contemporary World Order
Mr. Khalid Banuri is Senior Advisor to Project Phoenix, supporting training initiatives within the Pakistan Air Force. A former fighter pilot and flight instructor, he has over two decades of experience in arms control and diplomacy, notably serving as the first DG and later Advisor at ACDA, Strategic Plans Division. He has taught at various public universities and actively contributes to academic and policy discourse on nuclear politics and international law.
Dr. Han Hua
Speaker I: Nuclear Deterrence, Emerging Technologies and Great Power Competition
Dr. Han Hua is Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Arms Control and Disarmament at the School of International Studies, Peking University, China. Her research focuses on nuclear deterrence, arms control, nonproliferation, and strategic stability from both regional and global perspectives. She has held visiting positions at Harvard University, Georgia Tech, SIPRI, and the Stimson Center. Dr. Han has published widely on arms control and South Asian security issues.
Dr. Xia Liping
Speaker II: Reshaping of Strategic Stability by Emerging and Disruptive Technologies
Dr. Xia Liping is Vice President of the Institute for China and World Studies and Professor at Tongji University, Shanghai, specializing in nuclear arms control, East Asian security, and global governance. He has held prestigious fellowships and visiting positions at institutions including the Atlantic Council, University of Pennsylvania, and Stockholm University. Dr. Xia has authored several books on China’s security strategy, U.S. nuclear policy, and Asia-Pacific arms control. He holds a Ph.D. in World History from East China Normal University.
Dr. Naeem Salik
Speaker III: Impact of Emerging and Disruptive Technologies on Concept of Nuclear Deterrence
Dr. Naeem Salik is the Executive Director of the Strategic Vision Institute, Islamabad, and has previously served as Director for Arms Control and Disarmament at Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division. He has taught at leading Pakistani universities and held visiting fellowships at SAIS–Johns Hopkins, Brookings, Stanford, and the Stimson Center. Dr. Salik holds a PhD from the University of Western Australia and has authored four books and over 40 research articles on nuclear policy, arms control, and South Asian security.
Mr Dmitry Stefanovich
Speaker IV (Online): Influence of Emerging Technologies on Changing Character of War
Mr. Dmitry Stefanovich is a Research Fellow at the Center for International Security at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Russian Academy of Sciences. His work focuses on strategic stability, arms control, emerging military technologies, and global security dynamics.
Dr Alexander Evans OBE
Speaker V: Strategic Alliances in the Age of Emerging and Disruptive Technologies
Professor Alexander Evans OBE is Associate Dean and Professor in Practice at the LSE, with expertise in diplomacy, technology, and public policy. A seasoned British diplomat, he has served in senior roles at 10 Downing Street, the Foreign Office, and the UN. He was the Henry Kissinger Chair at the Library of Congress and holds a PhD from SOAS.
Day I – Session II
Dr Anum Riaz
Moderator: Impact of Militarization of Artificial Intelligence
Dr. Anum Riaz is Associate Director Research at the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), Islamabad. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Bahauddin Zakariya University and advanced degrees in Defence and Strategic Studies from Quaid-i-Azam University. Her expertise spans international nuclear politics, non-proliferation, arms control, and both traditional and non-traditional security issues.
Dr Petr Topychkanov
Speaker I: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Nuclear Deterrence
Dr. Petr Topychkanov is an Associate Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme, focusing on nuclear nonproliferation, arms control, and strategic stability in the context of emerging technologies. He is also a Senior Researcher at IMEMO RAS and Assistant Professor at Lomonosov Moscow State University. Previously, he was a Research Fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center’s Nonproliferation Program (2006–2017).
Ms Alice Saltini
Speaker II: Impact of Artificial Intelligence on NC3
Ms. Alice Saltini is a Non-Resident Expert on AI at CNS and an AI-Nuclear Policy Advisor at the Institute for Security and Technology (IST). She specializes in the impact of AI on nuclear decision-making and advises governments and international bodies on mitigating AI-related nuclear risks. Alice has published widely on military applications of AI and previously held positions with ELN, CTBTO, and CNS. She holds a Master’s in Russian Studies and a PgCert in Nonproliferation Studies from the Middlebury Institute
Dr Jean-Marc Rickli
Speaker III: Militarization of Artificial Intelligence: Security, Legal and Ethical Perspectives
Dr. Jean-Marc Rickli is the Head of Global and Emerging Risks and Director of the Polymath Initiative at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). He co-chairs NATO’s PfPC Emerging Security Challenges Working Group and advises the UN on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). A PhD from Oxford, he is co-author of Surrogate Warfare: The Transformation of War in the Twenty-first Century.
Dr Zafar Khan
Speaker IV: Artificial Intelligence: Impact on South Asian Nuclear Deterrence
Dr. Zafar Khan is Executive Director of the Balochistan Think Tank Network (BTTN) and Professor of International Relations at BUITEMS, Quetta. He holds a PhD in Strategic Studies from the University of Hull, UK, and has taught at NDU Islamabad. He has authored multiple books and published widely in international journals on nuclear policy, deterrence, and South Asian security.
Day I – Session III
Dr Rahat Iqbal
Moderator: Impact of Emerging Technologies on Enhancing Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology
Dr. Rahat Iqbal is Associate Director Research at the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), Islamabad. She holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Peshawar and brings extensive experience in research, program design, and policy analysis. Her key interests include nuclear safety and security, peaceful uses of nuclear technology, arms control, and geopolitics.
Mr Anton V. Khlopkov
Speaker I: Role of Emerging Technologies in Expanding Peaceful Applications of Nuclear Technology
Mr. Anton Khlopkov is Director of the Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS) and a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters. He also serves on the Advisory Board under the Russian Security Council and chairs the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference. A noted expert in nuclear policy, he has led Track II dialogues with Iran and North Korea and authored several works on nuclear nonproliferation and energy security.
Dr Robert B. Hayes
Speaker II: The Role of Emerging Technologies in Achievement of UN SDGs
Dr. Robert Hayes is an Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering at NC State University and a joint faculty appointee at Savannah River National Laboratory. With over 25 years of experience, he specializes in nuclear safety, radiological risk assessment, and national security operations. He serves on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security and is a Fellow of both the Health Physics Society and the American Physical Society.
Dr Tariq Rauf
Speaker III (Online): Emerging Technologies for Nuclear Safety/Security/Verification: Challenges and Opportunities
Dr. Tariq Rauf is an independent nuclear governance expert based in Vienna and an expert trainer with UNITAR and ISODARCO. He formerly held senior roles at the IAEA, including Head of Verification and Security Policy, and has served as Director at SIPRI and CNS Monterey. He has been a member of Japan’s Group of Eminent Persons on nuclear disarmament and holds degrees from LSE, King’s College London, and Canadian universities.
Day II – Session IV
Ms Anum A. Khan
Moderator: Impact of Quantum and Cyber Technologies and Autonomous Weapon Systems on Deterrence
Ms Anum A. Khan is an Associate Director at the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS) Islamabad. She has worked with Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division at the Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs Branch for a decade up until July 2023. She is currently enrolled in Ph. D program of Defence and Strategic Studies at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad and is a former visiting Ph.D. scholar at the School of History, Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester, UK. She is also project staff at European Research Council-funded 'The Third Nuclear Age Project,' is a United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs mentor and a former CTBTO Research fellow. Her areas of interests include the nexus of emerging and new technologies with deterrence and strategic stability, nuclear export controls, policy and doctrines, civil nuclear energy, non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament.
Mr Vladislav Chernavskikh
Speaker I: Impact of Quantum Technologies on Nuclear Deterrence
Mr. Vladislav Chernavskikh is a Research Assistant with the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme, focusing on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. He also contributes to SIPRI’s Alva Myrdal Centre working group on nuclear disarmament in policy and international law. Formerly a Research Associate at CENESS, he holds a dual M.A. in Nonproliferation from MIIS and MGIMO, and a B.A. in International Relations from Ural Federal University.
Dr Jessica West
Speaker II: Cyber Threats to NC3 Infrastructure – Implications for Nuclear Deterrence
Dr. Jessica West is a Senior Fellow at CIGI and a Research Fellow at the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement. She specializes in outer space peace and security, with a focus on humanitarian, gender, and inclusive approaches. Her work engages with UN bodies on space safety, AI, and cyber issues. She holds a PhD in Global Governance from the Balsillie School of International Affairs.
Dr. Laetitia Cesari
Speaker III (Online): Emerging Applications and Impact of Directed Energy Weapons
Dr. Laetitia Cesari is a Consultant at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). She is a researcher and a legal practitioner working on the law and policy of digital technologies and outer space, with a focus on security and safety aspects, and particularly cybersecurity. Prior to her current position, Laetitia worked in the space industry, specifically in telecommunications. Before that, she supported the work of national authorities on space-related topics.
Dr Rizwana Abbasi
Speaker IV: LAWS: Escalation Dynamics and Global Security
Dr. Rizwana Abbasi is Associate Professor at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad, and a non-resident fellow at CISS. A former fellow at the EastWest Institute, Stimson Center, and Central European University, she has taught at leading institutions in Pakistan and the UK. Dr. Abbasi holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Leicester and is the author of four books on nuclear deterrence, disarmament, and South Asian security.
Day II – Session V
Dr Adil Sultan
Moderator: Weaponization of Space and Advancements in Missile Technologies – Challenges to Global Security
Dr. Adil Sultan is Dean Faculty of Aerospace and Strategic Studies (FASS) at the Air University Islamabad, Pakistan since October 2020. He has served in the PAF for over 31 years and retired as an Air Commodore. During his military career he served at the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) at the Policy, Doctrine and Strategy (PDS) Branch, and Director Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs (ACDA) Directorate. His research interests include arms control, nuclear deterrence, and emerging technologies. Dr Sultan has authored a book, several research articles in international and national journals.
Ms Almudena Azcárate Ortega
Speaker I: Space as the New Battlefield, Challenges to International Security and Stability
Ms. Almudena Azcárate Ortega is the Lead Space Security Researcher at UNIDIR and an Academic Fellow at Georgetown University. She has actively contributed to multilateral discussions on space security, including the UN Open-Ended Working Group (2022–2023). Almudena holds an LL.M. in National Security Law from Georgetown, where she earned the prestigious Thomas Bradbury Chetwood, S.J. Prize, and an LL.B. from the University of Navarra, Spain. Her expertise lies in space security law and policy.
Ms Anna Belolipetskaia
Speaker II: Impact of Space-Based Weapon Systems on Global Security
Ms. Anna Belolipetskaia is a Research Associate at the Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS) and Coordinator of the 2026 Moscow Nonproliferation Conference. She has led CTBTO fellowship programs and worked on projects like the Post-JCPOA Era and Russia-U.S. Track II Dialogue. Her research focuses on nuclear nonproliferation, peaceful nuclear energy, and preventing an arms race in outer space. Anna holds a Master’s in Strategic and Arms Control Studies from Saint Petersburg State University.
Dr Christine M. Leah
Speaker III: Impact of Advancements in Missiles Technologies on Nuclear Deterrence
Dr Christine Leah is a fellow at the National Institute for Deterrence Studies. Previously she worked at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the RAND Corporation, the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Karen News on the Thai-Burma border, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, the Center for International Strategic Studies, and the Australian government. She now works for a small consulting firm in Australia.
Prof. Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal
Speaker IV: Implications of India’s March Towards Space Weaponization
Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal is a Meritorious Professor of International Relations and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad. A distinguished scholar in nuclear politics, arms control, and national security, he has authored two notable books: India's Surgical Strike Stratagem: Brinksmanship and Response Options (Routledge, 2022) and Nuclear Arms Control in South Asia: Politics, Postures and Practices (Lexington Books, 2021). His work is widely recognized in academic and policy-making communities.
Day II – Session VI
Dr Asma Shakir Khawaja
Moderator: Emerging Technologies and Arms Control: Challenges / Opportunities
Dr. Asma Shakir Khawaja is the Executive Director of CISS and author of Shaking Hands with Clenched Fists. A seasoned academic, she served as Associate Professor and founding Head of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at NDU, Islamabad. With over 20 years of teaching and research experience, she specializes in strategic studies, peacebuilding, and Pakistan-India relations. She is a DAAD and IVLP fellow and recipient of the APCSS Alumni Achievement Award and Presidential Gold Medal of Merit.
Prof. Dr Andrey Pavlov
Speaker I: Emerging and Disruptive Technologies: Prospects and Challenges to Arms Control Frameworks
He is a Graduate of Saint-Petersburg University, holds Ph.D. in history. Professor at Saint-Petersburg State University and the Chair of the master’s program “Strategic and Arms Control Studies” at the School of International Relations where he teaches the courses on history of strategy, nuclear strategy and arms control. Author of publications on various aspects of the Russian national security strategy, strategic stability and arms control. Co-editor of the book “Nuclear Russia: international and domestic agendas” (2020).
Mr He Miao
Speaker II: Confidence Building Measures for Emerging and Disruptive Technologies
Mr. Miao HE is a Research Fellow at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association (CACDA), People's Republic of China. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the P.R.C. in 2016 and has served in various diplomatic roles, including postings in Papua New Guinea, San Francisco, and departments focused on North American, Oceanian, and arms control affairs.
Brig (R) Zahir Kazmi
Speaker III: Evolving International Law on Managing Emerging and Disruptive Technologies
Dr. Brigadier (R) Zahir Kazmi serves as Advisor for Arms Control, Disarmament Affairs, and Strategic Communication at Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division (SPD), National Command Authority. He previously held the position of Director General, Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs at SPD. With nearly 15 years of experience in strategic policy, he has played a pivotal role in advancing Pakistan’s arms control initiatives. His research interests include strategic stability in the Indian Ocean Region.
Dr Olamide Samuel
Speaker IV: Emerging Technologies and Future of Nuclear Arms Control
Dr. Olamide Samuel leads network development at the Open Nuclear Network (ONN) in Vienna and formerly served as Special Envoy of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy. He has held research and teaching roles at the University of Leicester and SOAS, leading global disarmament initiatives like SCRAP Weapons. He holds a PhD in Security and Intelligence and is co-author of Open Source Investigations in the Age of Google and The Global Third Nuclear Age. Dr. Samuel frequently writes and comments on international security and non-proliferation in leading media and academic platforms.
