Pakistan’s Envoy To France Moin-Ul-Haque Appointed New High Commissioner To India

Pakistan on Monday (20 May) appointed its French envoy Moin-ul-Haque as the country's new high commissioner to India. The post had been lying vacant since March, when the then high commissioner to India Sohail Mehmood had been called back and appointed as the foreign secretary of Pakistan, reports Hindustan Times.

Moin, who is currently Pakistan’s envoy to France, had also served as the chief of protocol at the Pakistan’s foreign office.

According to the report, Pakistani Prime Minster Imran Khan on Monday (20 May) approved appointments of over two dozen ambassadors in various countries including India and China. The appointments were pending since the new Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government took charge in August 2018.

The appointments are significant as several Pakistani missions had been operating without any envoys at a time when Pakistan's diplomatic heft has shrunk greatly. With the appointments, the foreign minister of Pakistan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi hoped that the new ambassadors will add thrust to the promotion of soft image of Pakistan.

Moin is taking over the job of high commissioner to India at a time when the bilateral relations have hit an all-time low since the 14 February attacks on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama which killed 44 Indian jawans. The attack had been carried out by Pakistan based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad which is headed by Masood Azhar.