India Appoints First Woman as Chargé d’affaires in Islamabad

For the first time, the Indian High Commission has appointed a woman as chargé d’affaires in Islamabad.

Geetika Srivastava, on the other hand, is the country’s second female diplomat. Britain had previously appointed Jane Marriott CMG OBE as high commissioner.

Ms Srivastava is anticipated to begin her duty shortly after Dr Suresh Kumar’s term ends.

It should be noted that since the termination of the special status of Indian-occupied Kashmir on August 5, 2019, ties between the neighbors deteriorated, and there has been no full-time high commissioner in Islamabad or New Delhi.

Also Read: First British Muslim Woman Appointed Head of UK Diplomatic Post

In 2019, Islamabad removed former High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria and chose to cut diplomatic ties with New Delhi.

Ms Srivastava is a member of the Indian Foreign Service’s 2005 class. She has also spent time in China. She is conversant in Chinese (Mandarin).

She is originally from Uttar Pradesh and has worked as a regional passport officer in Kolkata as well as a director in the Ministry of External Affairs’ IOR Division.

Ms Srivastava is currently a joint secretary in charge of the Indo-Pacific Division at New Delhi’s Ministry of External Affairs.

The section is in charge of India’s multilateral diplomacy with ASEAN, IORA, FIPIC, and other Indo-Pacific organizations.

Meanwhile, Saad Warraich, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ director general for Afghanistan, Turkey, and Iran, has been named Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in New Delhi.