ISLAMABAD, Sep 10 (Alliance News): Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday announced that Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, will be the country’s next foreign secretary.
In a post on X, Dar expressed confidence that Asim Iftikhar would lead the Foreign Office with professionalism and continue efforts to advance Pakistan’s national interests.
The deputy prime minister also announced that Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch, Pakistan’s 33rd foreign secretary, will retire from government service on September 17, 2026, after a diplomatic career spanning more than three decades.
Dar praised Baloch for her dedicated public service and leadership of the Foreign Ministry during an important period in Pakistan’s diplomatic history.
He said Baloch would take charge as Pakistan’s ambassador to Turkiye after her retirement, expressing confidence that she would continue to serve the country with distinction.
Dar added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had approved the new assignments.
Asim Iftikhar’s diplomatic career
Asim Iftikhar joined Pakistan’s Foreign Service in 1993 and has served in diplomatic assignments across Europe, Africa, Asia and the United Nations.
He served as Pakistan’s ambassador to France and Monaco and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO from November 2022 to December 2024.
Before his Paris assignment, he served as Foreign Office spokesperson from August 2021 to November 2022. During the same period, he also headed the Asia Pacific Division and later the United Nations and Economic Diplomacy Division as additional foreign secretary.
He previously served as Pakistan’s ambassador to Thailand from 2017 to 2021. His first diplomatic posting was in Niamey, Niger, where he served from 1997 to 2000.
At the Foreign Ministry, Iftikhar has also held responsibilities in the Personnel, Europe and Africa divisions.
He has extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy, including assignments at Pakistan’s missions to the United Nations in New York and Geneva. He also served as Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to UNESCAP in Bangkok and to UNESCO in Paris.
While heading the UN Division at the Foreign Ministry, he dealt with a wide range of issues including peace and security, development, climate change and human rights.
His earlier assignments in New York included work on political affairs, peace and security, Security Council matters, UN reform, General Assembly issues, conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace-building.
Iftikhar holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, where he received a gold medal, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Punjab, Lahore, also with a gold medal.
