Zafar Hilaly is a Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

i political analyst and diplomat who has previously served as an ambassador to Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

 and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Hilaly comes from a family of Muhajir

Muhajir people

Muhajir [literally – migrants] is a term commonly used especially by Pakistanis to describe the Muslim immigrants who chose to settle in Pakistan and shifted their domicile after partition of British India into Pakistan and India. Some had participated in the movement for creation of Pakistan in...

 background in Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

; his forefathers were originally from Persia who fled the court of the last Shah of the Qajar dynasty

Qajar dynasty

The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....

 of Iran in the 19th century for unknown reasons and settled in South India.
His father Agha Hilaly

Agha Hilaly

Agha Hilaly was one of Pakistan's senior most diplomats who held several high offices in the Government of Pakistan, including Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States.-Career and Family Baxkground:...

 and paternal uncle Agha Shahi

Agha Shahi

Agha Shahi NI was a Pakistani diplomat and Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 1977 to 1982, during the regime of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. He served as the President of the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad till his death.-Diplomatic career:Shahi gained M.Sc...

 were both famous diplomats.

Hilaly is a columnist and frequently writes for newspapers such as the Daily Times, The Express Tribune

The Express Tribune

The Express Tribune is the first internationally affiliated newspaper in Pakistan, in partnership with The International Herald Tribune, the global edition of The New York Times....

and The News International

The News International

The News International , published in tabloid size, is the largest English language newspaper in Pakistan. The News has an ABC certified circulation of 140,000. It is published from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad...

.