ISLAMABAD: The foreign affairs minister is expected to make important appointments to the post of foreign minister and foreign ministry spokesman, sources said on Thursday.
According to sources, Amna Baloch – a 22nd grade officer in the Pakistan Foreign Service – will be appointed as Foreign Minister after his retirement, replacing Dr. Syrus Sajjad Qazi.
Baloch is expected to assume her duties on September 11, sources said. Interestingly, she is the second female federal secretary appointed by the government in a month after Ambreen Jan, who was appointed Information and Broadcasting Secretary this month.
Meanwhile, Qazi got a tip that he would get an ambassador post in an important country after his retirement.
FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, on the other hand, has been appointed as Pakistan’s ambassador to France, replacing Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, according to sources, but her replacement has not been announced yet.
Meanwhile, Ahmad has been appointed Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN to replace veteran Munir Akram.
Mumtaz currently serves as Spokesperson and AFS (Strategic Communications and Public Diplomacy Division) in the FO. Prior to her posting at headquarters, she served as Ambassador to South Korea and Minister/Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Pakistan in China.
The prime minister also approved changes in Pakistan’s envoys in various capitals, including Paris, Ottawa, Pretoria, Brunei and Kuwait.
Additional Foreign Minister Ambassador Muhammad Saleem was appointed High Commissioner to Canada by Deputy Zaheer Aslam Janjua, who marked the day after completing his tenure.
Muhammad Saleem is a senior diplomat who is currently the AS Administration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Janbaz Khan has been appointed ambassador to Brunei Darussalam to replace retired Major General Farhat Abbas Sani, sources said, while Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Syed Faisal Niaz Tirmizi has been appointed ambassador to Belgium and will also be an envoy. for the European Union (EU).
Malik Muhammad Farooq, ambassador to Kuwait, has been appointed high commissioner to South Africa, sources added, replacing Aftab Hasan Khan, sources said.
