Dr. Zehra is an officer of Pakistan Customs with a blend of experience in public sector, structural reforms and academic research.   Her affiliation with government service spans over 25 years.  She has spent substantial time of her career in enhancing her qualifications and carrying out academic research.

Her professional expertise pertains to civil services reforms, international trade law, international legal obligations and domestic regulatory autonomy, trade as a development tool, services trade, WTO dispute settlement,  new governance approaches in EU economic integration and effective governance of international trade. She has vast exposure in administrative and legal issues, policy implementation and civil service reforms.

She served as the founding member of Institutional Reform Cell (IRC), that was constituted by the current government for civil service and governance reforms.   Previously she has served as Director General, IOCO, Director Customs Intelligence and Collector Customs,  Port Qasim Authority, Karachi and Secretary, Human Resource Development, FBR Islamabad.

She holds a Ph.D. Degree in International Trade Law from University of Southampton, UK. LLM in International Law from University of Sussex, UK, with distinction, Bachelor of Law (LLB) from SM Law College, Karachi and Masters in English Literature from Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore.

She has attended 108th National Management Course at NMC Lahore and 18th Senior Management Course at NIM Karachi. She has also been a part of several national and international workshops and webinars organized by USAID, United Nation UNCTAD and World Customs Organization. She delivers regular talks on civil service reforms and international trade-related topics at various fora and has published articles in newspapers and peer review journals. She is currently working as Director General, NIM Karachi.