Pakistan government has appointed former foreign secretary Salman Bashir as new envoy to India. Bashir’s nomination has been cleared by Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. His appointment has formally been accepted by the government of India.
60-year-old Bashir will succeed Shahid Malik, who has completed a record five-and-a-half-year term as Pak envoy.
Salman Bashir served as the foreign secretary of Pakistan from April, 2008 to March, 2012. Before being appointed as foreign secretary, Bashir was the Pakistan Ambassador to China and Mongolia from 2005 to 2008.
The former Pakistan foreign secretary has been part of the Indo-Pak dialogue process following the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. He also travelled to New Delhi when President Zardari visited India on April 8.
Bashir is married with two sons and daughter. His brother, Admiral Noman Bashir, is the former Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy.