Asim Iftikhar made new foreign secretary

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday appointed Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, as the country’s next foreign secretary, bringing one of the Foreign Office’s most experienced multilateral diplomats back to Islamabad at a time of heightened geopolitical challenges.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced the appointment, saying Prime Minister Shehbaz had approved the assignment. Ambassador Iftikhar will succeed Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch, who is due to retire from government service on September 17 after serving in the top diplomatic position since September 2024.

Dar praised the outgoing foreign secretary for her “dedicated service and leadership” of the Foreign Office during what he described as a consequential period in Pakistan’s diplomatic history.

Iftikhar, currently Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York, will take charge of the Foreign Office after a diplomatic career spanning more than three decades.

A career diplomat who joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1993, Ahmad has held several key assignments both at home and abroad, with extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the United Nations.

He served as Pakistan’s ambassador to France from November 2022 to December 2024 and was also the country’s permanent delegate to UNESCO. Before his posting to Paris, he served as ambassador to Thailand from 2017 to 2021 and Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

Meanwhile, outgoing Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch will continue her diplomatic career after retirement. According to the foreign minister’s announcement she will take charge as Pakistan’s ambassador to Türkiye after her retirement.

Amna became Pakistan’s 33rd foreign secretary when she assumed office on September 11, 2024.