KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan's high commissioner to India has been appointed the country's new foreign secretary on Sunday.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters in his northeastern hometown of Multan that Sohail Mahmood would succeed Tehmina Janjua, who is retiring on April 16.

The key appointment was made after consultation with Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said.

Mahmood, now the senior-most Foreign Ministry official, has served in several foreign countries including the U.S., Turkey, Thailand, and India.

He joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1985 and received two Master’s degrees, one in History from Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad and another in International Affairs from Columbia University in New York.

Before India, Mahmood served as ambassador to Turkey, and had also served as counsellor to Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN and a political counsellor to the Pakistani Embassy in Washington.