{"id":124977,"date":"2026-09-09T22:28:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T17:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pni.net.pk\/en\/?p=124977"},"modified":"2026-09-09T22:28:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T17:28:03","slug":"asim-iftikhar-named-foreign-secretary-as-amna-baloch-retires-on-sept-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pni.net.pk\/en\/pakistan-news\/asim-iftikhar-named-foreign-secretary-as-amna-baloch-retires-on-sept-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Asim Iftikhar named Foreign Secretary as Amna Baloch retires on Sept 17"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar announced that Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad would be the next Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, succeeding Ambassador Amna Baloch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Ambassador Amna Baloch, the 33rd Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, will retire from government service on September 17, 2026, after a distinguished career spanning more than three decades.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Senator Dar commended her dedicated service and leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during a consequential period in Pakistan\u2019s diplomatic history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">\u201cForeign Secretary Amna Baloch leaves behind a legacy of dedicated public service, and carries with her our warmest wishes,\u201d Senator Dar said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">He added that Ambassador Amna Baloch would assume charge as Pakistan\u2019s Ambassador to T\u00fcrkiye after her retirement, expressing confidence that she would continue to serve Pakistan with distinction in her new role.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The deputy prime minister said he was also delighted to announce that Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, currently serving as Pakistan\u2019s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, would be the country\u2019s next Foreign Secretary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">\u201cI am confident that, under Ambassador Asim\u2019s leadership, the Foreign Office will continue to advance Pakistan\u2019s interests with clarity, professionalism and purpose,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Senator Dar said the new Foreign Secretary would build on the important work undertaken by Ambassador Amna Baloch and all her predecessors.<\/p>\n<p>He further said Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif had approved the assignments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar announced that Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad would be the next Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, succeeding Ambassador Amna Baloch. Ambassador Amna Baloch, the 33rd Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, will retire from government service on September 17, [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":124988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Asim Iftikhar named Foreign Secretary as Amna Baloch retires on Sept 17 - Pakistan News International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pni.net.pk\/en\/pakistan-news\/asim-iftikhar-named-foreign-secretary-as-amna-baloch-retires-on-sept-17\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Asim Iftikhar named Foreign Secretary as Amna Baloch retires on Sept 17 - Pakistan News International\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar announced that Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad would be the next Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, succeeding Ambassador Amna Baloch. 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