Mr. Shah has led and supervised a range of major development and policy initiatives supported by international development partners, including the World Bank, UNDP, WTO and the European Union. His assignments have included serving as Negotiator, Team Leader and Supervisor for the World Bank-funded Primary Education Programme (PEP) for the NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa); Team Leader/Supervisor for the National Trade and Transport Facilitation Committee (NTTFC); Team Leader/Head of Negotiations for the Pakistan-Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA); and Team Leader/Supervisor for UNDP-supported trade initiatives focused on human development. He has also supervised WTO trade awareness initiatives, coordinated donor consultations involving organisations including the World Bank, UNDP, DFID, ADB and GTZ, and supervised a European Union-funded regional trade project under the Asia Trust Fund.
In the public sector, Mr. Shah has served as Federal Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, overseeing a diverse portfolio that included major public-sector entities such as the Trading Corporation of Pakistan, Trade Development Authority and public-sector insurance companies. He has spent more than 25 years working in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including serving as Secretary of the Health Department and Secretary of the Education Department. He also has ten years of experience as Political Agent and Commissioner, with responsibility for the administration of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).