Award-winning conflict journalist, analyst and Iraq War veteran with unparalleled field access across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Emmy winner for documentary work in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, former editor at The Economist, and prize-winning writer for the Financial Times. Adnan's analytical work is grounded in comfort with challenging environments—whether embedded with the Taliban, sailing across the Atlantic, or conducting research in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Currently completing formal training in philosophy, politics, and history at the University of Oxford to combine two decades of frontline experience with rigorous academic frameworks. Multilingual with operational fluency in rare language capabilities for South Asia analysis—fluent in English and Punjabi, conversational in Urdu and Hindi. Available for think tank research positions, expert commentary, policy consultation, and speaking engagements on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and South Asian security dynamics.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Foreign Correspondent & Documentary Producer | BBC, HBO, Channel 4, ITV, Sky | 2019 - Present

  • UK Terrorism (2023-2025): Senior Producer for Sky's three-part series on the twentieth anniversary of the London Bombings of 2005. Gained access to close friends of the suicide bombers, bomb disposal experts, police personnel in the UK and militants in Pakistan to shed light on the planning, execution and local lives of the bombers.

  • Afghanistan (2021-2023): Spent two years embedded in Taliban-controlled territory producing award-winning documentary journalism. Won Emmy Award as Second Camera for Escape from Kabul (HBO, 2022). Twice nominated for BAFTA. Wrote dispatches from Kabul and Gayan for the Financial Times during the fall of the Afghan government, providing on-ground analysis during the most critical period of the withdrawal.

  • UK Migration (2020): Infiltrated Iranian people-smuggling network for six months, working undercover as a migrant for ITV investigation. Documentary exposed trafficking routes from Asia, through France to the UK, demonstrating investigative capability in high-risk environments.

  • South Africa (2019): Won Premio Luchetta Award for Reportage for investigative documentary on armed gangs for Channel 4's Unreported World. Gained unprecedented access to criminal networks in Cape Town exposing the intersection of organised crime and state failure.

  • Iraq (2018): Travelled the length of Iraq from the north of Kurduistan to Basra in the south, learning about the recent history fifteen years after the invasion, the takeover of Mosul by ISIS, the oil industry and the ancient history of Mesopotamia.

  • Pakistan (2017): Travelled the entire length of Pakistan from Karachi to Passu near the Chinese border for BBC documentary Dangerous Borders. Documented Partition's ongoing legacy, India-Pakistan tensions, and the country's extraordinary diversity—from female boxer defying social expectations to fishing families separated by border disputes, Sufi communities targeted by extremists, and remote Thar Desert populations. Combined linguistic access (Punjabi fluency, Urdu proficiency) with deep field engagement.

Community Editor | The Economist | 2015 - 2019

  • Led international team of twelve writers and multimedia producers across London, New York, and Hong Kong. Significantly increased digital reach and subscriber growth through editorial innovation and audience development. Contributed to revisions of The Economist Style Guide, shaping editorial standards for the publication. Served as a publication-day proofreader ensuring quality control for global readership

  • Iraq Reporting (2016): Wrote from northern Iraq covering foreign fighters joining Kurdish forces against ISIS, combining frontline reporting with geopolitical analysis.

Career progression: Advanced from intern to senior editorial role in under six months, demonstrating rapid mastery of international affairs and editorial leadership.

Writer | Financial Times & Literary Publications | 2012 - 2015

  • Winner, Bodley Head/Financial Times Essay Prize (2013) for "British Muslim Soldier," an extended essay on identity, loyalty, and the complex position of Muslim service members in Western militaries post-9/11. The essay drew on personal military experience to examine broader questions of belonging and citizenship.

  • Published analysis on Iraq War legacy, Salman Rushdie and the fatwa's long-term cultural impact, and British foreign policy in Middle East. Work appeared in Financial Times, Marginalia/LA Review of Books, The Outpost (Beirut), Five Dials (Penguin), the White Review (London).

Demonstrated capability to produce serious analytical writing for elite publications while translating complex geopolitical and cultural dynamics for general readership.

Military Consultant & Filmmaker | 2007 - 2012

  • Worked extensively on BBC and ITV productions as military advisor, training actors in weapons handling, tactics, and authentic soldier behavior. Script consultant for BAFTA-winning writer Jimmy McGovern on military dramas.

  • Education: Completed MA in Film Production (University of Salford) as writer/director, developing skills in visual storytelling and documentary production that would later prove essential for conflict journalism.

Soldier | British Army | 1997 - 2007

  • Iraq War (2006-2007): Deployed to Basra during peak insurgency period, building infrastructure under constant mortar and rocket fire. Witnessed the deterioration of security conditions and the challenges of stabilisation operations, directly informing later journalistic and analytical work on conflict zones.

  • Iraq War (2003): Served alongside the United States Marine Corps during the invasion of Iraq, experiencing the immediate aftermath of regime change. This deployment provided foundational understanding of intervention dynamics, civil-military coordination, and the gap between strategic planning and ground-level reality.

  • Deployments included Qatar, Cyprus, and Kuwait across a decade of service.

  • Additional training: Mountain Leader qualification (UK), sports parachuting, skiing (Germany, France, Austria). Two years in Army Reserve conducting bridge-building, demolitions, and waterborne operations, developing engineering and logistics expertise.

  • Leadership development: Ten years of military service provided discipline, operational capability, risk assessment skills, and understanding of military institutions that distinguish analytical work from purely academic approaches to conflict studies.

EDUCATION

Certificate in Higher Education: Philosophy (with History) | University of Oxford | 2024-2026

  • Specialising in Political Philosophy, British Empire history, Politics & History of Economic Thought (including India and China). Modules include ethics, religion, critical reasoning, Foundations in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam provided framework for analysing religious dimensions of conflict in Middle East and South Asia. Essays have examined drone warfare ethics, civilian protest movements, and colonial legacy in India (1857 Mutiny), achieving between Very Good and Excellent. Currently serve as essay-writing mentor for first-year Oxford students.

MA Film Production | University of Salford | 2011

  • Thesis work as writer/director, developing documentary and narrative filmmaking capabilities.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Emmy Award (2022) - Second Camera, Escape from Kabul, HBO

BAFTA Nomination (2023, 2024) - Documentary work

Bodley Head/Financial Times Essay Prize (2013) - "British Muslim Soldier"

Premio Luchetta Award for Reportage (2020) - South Africa investigation, Channel 4

RTS Award Nomination - Television documentary on migration

Bronze Lovie Award - Podcast on terrorism and extremism

LANGUAGES

Fluent: English (native), Punjabi (native)

Conversational: Urdu, Hindi (developing toward fluency through systematic study)

Basic: French, Arabic

In development: Dari (for enhanced Afghanistan/Pakistan field capability)

ADDITIONAL CAPABILITIES

  • Expeditionary & Field Experience: Comfortable operating in remote, austere, and high-risk environments requiring independent navigation and risk assessment. Recent transatlantic sailing passage (St Lucia to UK, 2025 - 3,000+ nautical miles) demonstrates capability for extended operations under unpredictable conditions. Combined with decade of military service in conflict zones, brings both intellectual rigour and operational capability to field research in challenging environments.

  • Public speaking: Presented at University of Cambridge debates, Oxford University on virtue ethics, The Economist on Iraq War legacy and Houses of Parliament on India-Pakistan peace processes. Comfortable engaging academic, policy, and public audiences.

  • Multimedia production: Award-winning capability across documentary film, photography, long-form journalism, and podcast production. Able to produce content across multiple formats for diverse audiences.

  • Security environments: Extensive experience operating in active conflict zones with appropriate risk assessment and mitigation. Comfortable in austere field conditions requiring independent logistics and security planning.

  • Sailing: Atlantic crossing St Lucia to UK, summer 2025

  • Professional associations: Oxford University Exploration Club, Oxford University Yacht Club, Army Sailing Association.

  • Certifications: RYA Competent Crew, RYA Sailing First Aid, RYA Sea Survival, RYA World Sailing Offshore, RYA Short Range Certificate