New Delhi, March 16: Senior IFS officer Sharat
Sabharwal was today named as India`s new High Commissioner to
Pakistan, an appointment which comes at a time when bilateral
relations between the two neighbours are at a new low.
A 1975 batch IFS officer, Sabharwal had an earlier
experience in Pakistan when he was the Deputy High
Commissioner in that country from July 1995 to June 1999.
He had experienced the highs and lows in relations with
Pakistan be it during the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee`s historic bus journey to Lahore in February 1999 or
the Kargil conflict that followed a few month later.
Sabharwal`s appointment as High Commissioner comes at a
time when the two neighbours` relations are at a new low,
particularly in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Mumbai.
Sabharwal, who is currently Special Secretary in charge
of Administration, Consular, Passport and Visa affairs in the
Ministry of External Affairs, will succeed Satyabrata Pal who
retired last month.
He had also served in various positions including in the
Permanent Mission of India to the UN in Geneva and Indian
missions in Madagascar, France and Mauritius.
Sabharwal was also the Deputy Permanent Representative of
India to the UN in Geneva from 1999 to 2002 and Ambassador in
Uzbekistan from 2002-2005. Born in 1952, Sabharwal holds a
post graduate degree in Political Science.
Bureau Report
