I, Dr Serena Hussain, am an Expert Witness and Associate Professor at the Centre for Peace and Security, Coventry University. I specialise in providing country expert reports for UK First tier and Upper Tribunal proceedings, as well as international jurisdictions, focusing on risk on return and the credibility of claims in light of prevailing country conditions. My expertise is deeply informed by over 15 years of fieldwork in Pakistan and the disputed territories of Jammu and Kashmir, including intensive data collection within the Afghan-Pakistan border region (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and examining the policies of right-wing majoritarian governance in India towards minorities.
Experience as an Expert: I provide comprehensive expert reports across a broad range of human rights and asylum categories, including:
- Political Asylum & Persecution: Expert testimony regarding individuals under threat from non-state actors (including the Taliban); and those at risk of arrest and detention by Pakistani state authorities (including members of the PTI) and Indian authorities (including sedition charges).
- Security & Militancy: Drawing on my research into movements like the Tehreek-e-Taliban, I assess the localised risks of targeted violence and recruitment in the Afghan-Pakistan border areas.
- Jammu & Kashmir (AJK/IJK): I am a leading expert on the disputed state of Kashmir and its political movements
- Religious Minorities: Expert on the persecution of members of religious minorities in South Asian, particularly under majoritarian rule in India.
- Gender-Based Violence (GBV): Reports on honour killings, domestic violence, and the efficacy of state protection for women in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
- LGBTQ: Analysis of the social, legal, and security risks faced by the LGBTQ community in conservative religious contexts.
Standard Turnaround: Expert reports are typically completed within 14 business days from receipt of instructions.
Urgent Requests: I can accommodate expedited requests for urgent tribunal hearings (7-day turnaround) depending on current caseload.
Other Relevant Positions: I am currently an expert advisor to the Islamabad Policy and Research Institute (Pakistan); a Non-Resident Scholar at the Institute for Regional Studies (Pakistan), and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Politics at Quaid-I-Azam University (Pakistan).
Qualifications: I obtained a B.A. (Joint Honours) in Sociology and Religious Studies at the University of Manchester, a PhD in Sociology and Policy Studies at the University of Bristol and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Oxford in Geography.
2. Adjunct Professor of Politics and International Relations, Quaid I Azam University, Pakistan
3. Non-Resident Scholar, Institute for Regional Studies, Pakistan.
Summary of in-Country Experience: I have conducted fieldwork in Pakistan since 2008 for several government departments and organisations including, the Home Office, the Central Office of Information and former Department for International Development. Examples of this work include overseeing three periods of intensive data collection with local communities within Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province as part of a Swedish International Development Agency funded project. In addition, I am a leading expert on both Pakistan-administered and Indian-administered Kashmir and published extensively on the region.
Academic Expertise: As a result of my expertise, I have supervised several doctoral theses on Pakistan to completion; and frequently act as an external examiner for PhDs on Pakistan across a broad range of social and political areas including:
- Comparing Social Movements in Northwest Pakistan: The Tareek-e-Taliban and Khudai Khidmatgar
- Exploring Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri’s work on Counter Terrorism: A Case Study of Minhaj-ul-Quran UK
- A Comparative Study of Women's Political Participation in Pakistan and Bangladesh
- Exploring Causes of Child Labour Within Two Communities in Rural Punjab
- A Sociological Study Investigating the Reasons for Childhood Defaulters in Expanded Routine Vaccinations in Swat, Pakistan
- Socio-Economic Reconstruction in Live Conflict Zones: Jammu & Kashmir
- Intercultural Dialogue in Fragile Non-Western Contexts: A Case Study of Jammu & Kashmir
- Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Objectives for Troops Contribution to Peace Operations
- Examining the Relevance of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
- Sea Level Rise-Impacts on National Security: A Case Study of Pakistan's Sir Creek
- The impact of Integrated Islamic Schools (IIS) in Early Childhood Education in Karachi
An Appraisal of Daily Stressors and Coping Strategies among Operational and Non-Operational Rescuers in Pakistan: Developing an Indigenous Daily Stressors Survey Tool.
Hussain, S. Governance, Resistance and Recharting Futures in Azad Jammu and Kashmir Routledge
Hussain, S. Society and Politics of Jammu and Kashmir Palgrave Macmillan Switzerland
Hussain, S. Baseline Assessment for the Federally Administered Tribal Districts, Pakistan. Islamic Relief Worldwide.
Hussain, S. Midline Assessment for the Newly Merged Districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly FATA), Pakistan. Islamic Relief Worldwide
Hussain, S. Endline Assessment for the Newly Merged Districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly FATA), Pakistan. Islamic Relief Worldwide
Hussain, S. A Forced Union: Exploring the Consequences of India’s Removal of Jammu and Kashmir’s Special Status, Nations and Nationalism
Hussain, S. Politics of Recognition and Colonial Legacies in the British Urban Space, Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture
Hussain, S. Ethno-nationalism or Religious Universalism? Exploring Kurdish Identity Salience among a Recent Migrant Community in England. Kurdish Studies
Hussain, S. Abrogation Two Years On: Consequences for Jammu and Kashmir. Centre for Trust Peace and Social Relations
Hussain, S. Missing from the ‘Minority Mainstream’: Pahari Speaking Diaspora in Britain. Journal of Multicultural and Multilingual Development