Pishkafti holds a Master’s degree in English Language and Linguistics and has academic and humanitarian experience. He began to work as a university teacher at the University of Duhok and the University of Zakho, teaching translation. As ISIS took over Yazidy homeland in Sinjar, Pishkafti decided to leave the academic sphere and enter the humanitarian one. During the peak of the ISIS crisis in Iraq in 2014, he collaborated with local non-governmental organizations as a volunteer to provide immediate help to vulnerable communities, most notably Yazidis fleeing violence. Pishkafti then started working officially for the local NGO of Harikar for almost two years. Building on this humanitarian work, he joined Geneva Call in 2016, working his way up from Project Officer to Project Coordinator, then Displacement and Return Coordinator, and is now the Head of Program for Geneva Call’s Iraqi Mission. 
 

Throughout his career, Pishkafti has played an important role in facilitating dialogue forums between armed groups and local populations, which has helped to build peace and stability in some of Iraq’s most unstable places. He has importantly, designed projects that respond to the needs of local populations.