Dr Hakimi completed his PhD in Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. His doctoral research examined the role of pro-government militias in the security and political dynamics of three provincial settings in Afghanistan and highlights the important role played by local armed groups in the processes of state centralization in Afghanistan.

He has published articles in Central Asian Survey, the Nordic Journal of Human Rights, Open Democracy, and for the United States Institute of Peace, Chr. Michelsen Institute, the United Nations and the World Bank. Since 2009, he has had ongoing research collaborations with Chr. Michelsen Institute in Bergen, and in 2012-2013 was a PhD fellow at CMI, funded by the Research Council of Norway.  He is currently involved in a joint Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and CMI project on Protection of Civilians: From Principle to Practice. He was previously Director of The Killid Group, a multi-media organization based in Kabul, and subsequently Country Director of Future Generations in Afghanistan, a US-based development NGO and accredited Graduate School.