Pak appoints its envoy to India as new foreign secretary

Pakistan's High Commissioner to India and seasoned diplomat Sohail Mahmood will be the country's new foreign secretary, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced Sunday.

Qureshi, while talking to reporters in Multan, said that the decision to appoint Mahmood as foreign secretary had been made following discussions with Prime Minister Imran Khan.

"Sohail Mahmood is being appointed as new foreign secretary," he said.

Incumbent Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua will retire on April 16.

It was so far not clear who will replace Mahmood in India.

Qureshi said that he talked with Mahmood on the telephone on Saturday and congratulated him over his new appointment.

"He is a seasoned diplomatEven now, after the Pulwama incident took place, he came to the headquarters for consultations and I benefited from his experience," Qureshi said, describing the deadly terror attack on CRPF soldiers as "incident".

Qureshi expressed confidence that Mahmood would fulfil his responsibilities as foreign secretary.

Mahmood was appointed as high commissioner to India in August 2017. He was serving as ambassador to Turkey when sent to India.

He previously also served at Washington and New York in addition to other posting in his long career.

Qureshi also thanked Janjua for her services.

"She always handled things with courage, bravery, clarity, and with a smile," he said.