Geetika Srivastava first woman to lead the Indian Mission in Pakistan

As the first woman to hold the position, Geetika Srivastava will be India's next charge d'affaires at its High Commission in Islamabad.

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Will succeed Dr. M. Suresh Kumar

She will succeed Dr. M. Suresh Kumar, who is currently serving as joint secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). She is set to go back to New Delhi.

A charge d'affaires is a diplomat who temporarily leads a diplomatic mission in a foreign country in the absence of the Ambassador or High Commissioner. However the position has several responsibilities.

High Commissions are the term used for diplomatic missions between Commonwealth nations. While Embassies are used for missions between non-Commonwealth nations.

Since August 2019, the Indian and Pakistani missions in Islamabad and New Delhi have operated without high commissioners; instead, they are each other's charge d'affaires.

Before Pakistan lowered the status of the High Commission as a result of the repeal of Article 370, Ajay Bisaria served as the final Indian High Commissioner to Islamabad.

There have been 22 heads of the mission since 1947, when the late Sri Prakasa assumed leadership as India's High Commissioner in Pakistan. Ms. Srivastava, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer since 2005, will hold the position as the first woman.

Held positions at the Regional Passport Office

She was employed with the Indian High Commission in China from 2007 until 2009. She has also held roles at the Regional Passport Office in Kolkata. She also served as the Directorate for the Indian Ocean Region of the External Affairs Ministry.

Women from India had previously worked as diplomats in Pakistan, but rarely in positions of leadership like this. Along with the difficulties of international diplomacy, particularly between two nations that have been at odds since 1947. The position of High Commissioner in Pakistan also presents its own peculiar set of difficulties.

A few years ago, Islamabad was designated as a "non-family" posting for Indian diplomats. Female officers are unable to apply for the position due to this prohibition.