Meet Geetika Srivastava, 1st Woman Charge D’affaires In Indian Mission In Pakistan

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New Delhi: Geetika Srivastava is set to be the first female diplomat to hold the post of chargé d’affaires in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, people familiar with the matter said, Hindustantimes.com reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Srivastava, who is from the 2005 batch of Indian Foreign Service, is currently a joint secretary (Indo-Pacific) in the External Affairs ministry.

She served in the Indian embassy in China during 2007-09, and was director of Indian Ocean Region division in External Affairs ministry. She also posted at Regional Passport Office, Kolkata.

Suresh Kumar, current Indian chargé d’affaires in Islamabad, is expected to return to New Delhi soon, the report said.

The Pakistan government, meanwhile, has chosen Saad Warraich — currently director general of the Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey desk at its Foreign ministry — as the new chargé d’affaires in New Delhi.

Previous Pakistani chargé d’affaires Salman Sharif was recently called back to Islamabad.

The Indian and Pakistani missions in Islamabad and New Delhi have not been headed by High Commissioners since August 2019.