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ISLAMABAD: A regular reshuffle in the Foreign Office is under way, with the new Foreign Secretary due to take charge on October 15 and several ambassadors and senior diplomats moving to new assignments.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative (PR) to the United Nations, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, will take over as Foreign Secretary on October 15. He is returning to Islamabad from New York next week. He is replacing Ms Amna Baloch, who has been appointed Pakistan’s ambassador to Turkey for two years on a contract basis after retiring from the Foreign Service.
Pakistan’s ambassador-designate to Germany, Salman Sharif, will assume his assignment in Berlin next week after outgoing envoy Ms Saqlain Syeda relinquishes charge. She will be assigned another slot before her superannuation. The country’s senior diplomat, Muhammad Asif Khan, who was serving at Pakistan’s PR mission in New York, has been appointed Director General for Foreign Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office, replacing Salman Sharif. In yet another significant reshuffle, Acting Foreign Secretary Muhammad Khalil Hashmi has been appointed National Coordinator for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) affairs. From there, Dr Muhammad Faisal has been transferred as Additional Foreign Secretary for Asia Pacific. He is viewed as an expert on the region and has replaced Muhammad Imran Siddiquee, who has gone to Tehran as Pakistan’s ambassador, the sources pointed out.
Pakistan will host the SCO heads of state summit next year in Islamabad. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be invited, besides the leaders of other member countries.
