Pakistan has appointed a senior diplomat Mansoor Ahmad Khan as the country’s new ambassador to Afghanistan, official sources said on Thursday.
Khan will replace Ambassador Zahid Nasrullah Khan, who has been posted as Pakistan’s ambassador to Cambodia.
Khan is the Ambassador of Pakistan to Austria with concurrent accreditation of Slovakia. He is Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN and other International Organizations based in Austria since July 2018.
His diplomatic career encompasses a wide-ranging experience, both in Islamabad and abroad.
Ambassador Khan has served at the Embassies of Pakistan in Harare, Kabul and New Delhi, the last two in the capacity of Deputy Head of Mission. He has also served at the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN, Geneva.
He was born in Lahore (Pakistan) in 1962. He did his Masters from the University of Westminster (London).
Khan has vast experience of Afghan affairs and has also served as Director General Afghan desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before his current posting.
He had participated in the process of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), which involved China, Pakistan and the U.S. in addition to Afghanistan. He was also part of negotiations for the launch of the Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity, the Moscow Format and Kabul process. Sources say that there were several other transfers and postings at the foreign ministry and missions abroad. Special Secretary Moazam Ahmad Khan has been appointed as the new High Commissioner to the UK; Additional Secretary (Americas) Aftab Khokhar to Vienna, Ambassador Moinul Haq to Beijing; SS Zahoor Ahmad to Sweden, Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi Hyder Shah to be Ambassador in Nepal, Mazhar Javed, ambassador to Nepal, will move to South Africa, Sajid Bilal is posted to Cairo, Mohammad Hassan will move from Tunisia to Jakarta, Bilal Hayee to Baku and Shozab Abass to Ethiopia.