Who is Geetika Srivastava? Geetika Srivastava has succeeded Dr. Suresh Kumar as India‘s Chargé d’Affaires in Pakistan, making her the first foreign service officer to hold the coveted position.
Pakistan has also appointed a new Chargé d’Affaires to New Delhi. Aizaz Khan was replaced as Pakistan High Commissioner by Saad Warriach.
Women have long played important roles in diplomacy.
There has been a growing recognition of the importance of including women in diplomatic efforts and negotiations over time, and Geetika’s appointment to a coveted role amid calls for diverse teams can be more effective in addressing complex relations between the two sides as tensions remain unabated.
Also read: India’s ISRO vs Pakistan’s SUPARCO: A comparative analysis
The appointment of India’s top diplomat comes shortly after the appointment of the United Kingdom’s first female high commissioner to Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the new Indian diplomat will take over as Suresh Kumar retires and returns home.
Who is Geetika Srivastava?
Geetika Srivastava is a member of the Indian Foreign Service, having joined the service nearly two decades ago.
She spent time in China during her career and speaks Chinese (Mandarin) fluently. She is also a joint secretary in charge of the Foreign Office’s Indo-Pacific Division.
After the 2019 skirmishes, relations between Pakistan and India remain tense, and there have been no full-time high commissioners since Pakistan decided to downgrade diplomatic ties in response to the BJP government’s illegal move to revoke the special status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
