ISLAMABAD: Asim Iftikhar Ahmad is likely to replace Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch, who is due to retire in the third week of September, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expected to announce the appointment later this week before departing for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York.
Highly placed sources told The News on Monday that consultations on the appointment had been completed and consensus had emerged in favour of Asim Iftikhar, who is currently serving as Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.
A career diplomat with extensive experience in bilateral and multilateral affairs, Asim Iftikhar assumed the UN assignment in April 2025. During Pakistan’s tenure on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), he represented the country and served as the council’s president in July 2025.
He previously served as Pakistan’s ambassador to France from 2022 to 2024 and to Thailand from 2017 to 2021. He also served as spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Meanwhile, the government is considering offering Amna Baloch a diplomatic assignment in a Western country, sources said. The move would allow Pakistan to benefit from her extensive diplomatic experience, particularly her tenure as ambassador to Belgium, where she represented Pakistan in the European Union and other international organisations. The sources described her tenure in Brussels as highly successful and said her experience could be utilised in an ambassadorial capacity.
