Moeed Hasan Pirzada is a Pakistani-British political commentator, geostrategic analyst, and television news journalist. He hosts a show called ‘Hard Talk’ on 92 News. He has interviewed numerous politicians from different countries and wrote articles for major newspapers.
Recently, he has been vlogging on YouTube, providing in-depth analysis of contemporary political issues emerging on a daily basis.
Early Life and Education
His late father, Dr Ghulam Mohiuddin Pirzada (d. 2015), originally from Srinagar, has been hailed as “the oldest physician of Mirpur” in Azad Kashmir, as well as “the first highly-qualified medical specialist in Mirpur since the city resurfaced as a new modern township following the construction of the Mangla dam in 1967.”
Pirzada earned his MBBS at Allama Iqbal Medical College in Lahore and took the CSS examination three times before deciding to pursue a career in journalism and media.
Career
Journalism:
Mooed Pirzada has worked with Waqt News and hosted the Tonight With Moeed Pirzada show. He has also served as PTV News’ Director for World Affairs and Head of Content, and he hosted the popular talk show Sochta Pakistan, on which he discussed national, regional, geopolitical, social, and educational topics with politicians, experts, and policymakers. He worked as a Director for World Affairs for Dunya News-TV and presented the current affairs talk show Dunya Today. Pirzada later hosted the “Hard Talk” program on 92 News.
He has interviewed Pakistani and foreign notables such as Benazir Bhutto, David Cameron, Hamid Karzai, Mahmood Abbas, William Dalrymple, Jaswant Singh, Richard Holbrooke, Mike Mullen, and British politician George Galloway. He has covered the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue as well as various talks between India and Pakistan, notably the meeting of former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Non-Aligned Summit in Havana in 2006.
In 2009, he covered the Pakistani military action in the Swat Valley as well as the IDP crisis. Anne W. Patterson appeared on his program in September 2009 and denied that the US security company Black Water had been working in Pakistan, a claim that was proven false with the arrest of Raymond Allen Davis in Lahore in January 2011.
Writings:
He has contributed to the regional newspaper Khaleej Times in Dubai. His columns have been featured in prominent Pakistani newspapers such as Dawn, The News International, Daily Times, and The Friday Times.
He has written several policy pieces for Pique Magazine and contributed policy papers to the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI). He is also the Executive Director of Governance and Policy Advisors (GAPA), a consulting firm that advises government institutions, development organisations, and corporations on media, governance, health policy, and regional peace.