NEW DELHI, May 5: It could be four to six weeks before a new Indian high commissioner arrives in Islamabad, possibly true of the time it would take for Pakistan’s new envoy to be in New Delhi, official sources said on Monday.

The Indian foreign ministry is believed to be looking for the right candidate for the job, their search stymied by the fact that Harsh Bhasin, named last year as the man, could be heading off to a new posting which he himself had requested in view of the unending suspense about his vague status for many a long month.

Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal, saying the government will “very soon” decide the name of the new envoy, explained that as per the normal practice, it may take four to six weeks for the incumbent to take charge.

Pakistani diplomats concurred that it took that long for a normal ambassadorial posting to happen.

“Prime Minister has announced the decision to appoint a high commissioner. On that, we will very soon take a decision. After that, we intend to make a formal movement,” he told a TV news channel.

Apparently responding to a question about the new Pakistan interlocutor with the Indian prime minister, Mr Sibal said: “If India could invite General Pervez Musharraf to Agra without asking whether the government there was legitimate or not since he had spearheaded the coup, there was no difficulty in establishing contact with Pakistan Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali.”

He said it was right that in the steps taken recently the government had not made any linkage that it would move forward only if cross-border infiltration and terrorism were fully stopped, the release said.

Mr Sibal said that India wanted to keep the diplomatic initiative in its hand.