NEW DELHI: Geetika Srivastava, currently joint secretary (Indo-Pacific) in the external affairs ministry, is set to become the first woman diplomat to hold the post of chargé d’affaires in the Indian high commission in Islamabad, people familiar with the matter said.
The Indian and Pakistani missions in Islamabad and New Delhi have not been headed by high commissioners since August 2019, when Pakistan decided to downgrade diplomatic relations following the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status by the Indian government. Ties between the two sides have been at an all-time low following a string of terror attacks blamed on Pakistan-based groups.
While Srivastava is expected to take up her assignment in Islamabad shortly, the Pakistan government has chosen Saad Warraich, currently director general of the Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey desk at the foreign ministry, as the new chargé d’affaires in New Delhi.
Salman Sharif, the previous Pakistani chargé d’affaires, was recently called back to Islamabad. The current Indian chargé d’affaires in Islamabad, Suresh Kumar, is expected to return to New Delhi soon, the people said.
Srivastava, who is from the 2005 batch of the Indian Foreign Service, served in the Indian embassy in China during 2007-09. She has also had stints at the Regional Passport Office in Kolkata and as director of the Indian Ocean Region division in the external affairs ministry.
{{/usCountry}}Srivastava, who is from the 2005 batch of the Indian Foreign Service, served in the Indian embassy in China during 2007-09. She has also had stints at the Regional Passport Office in Kolkata and as director of the Indian Ocean Region division in the external affairs ministry.
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