Laila Farooq has an M.Phil. Degree in Economics from Pakistan Institute of Development Economics and is currently working towards her Ph.D. in Political Science. Her research interests are processes underlying group violence including terrorism, ethnic violence and violence committed by civilians. Specifically, she is interested in the role of identity in an individual’s decision to act violently against a person from another group, without any threat of imminent danger. The case of the subcontinent is of particular interest to her. In an upcoming project she looks at how religious identity caused a violent divide between Hindus and Muslims in 1947 and ethnic identity did the same in 1971. By contrasting the two cases she wants to compare changes in group adherence and affiliation with an identity that turns civilians living peacefully with each other into cold blooded enemies.