ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Wajid Shamsul Hassan has announced that he would be stepping down after six “eventful years” in London.

“Next week I would be handing over charge to my Deputy High Commissioner Mr Imran Mirza,” High Commissioner Hassan said at a reception in London.

Mr Hassan is the longest serving Pakistani envoy to the United Kingdom. This was his second stint there. He worked as the high commissioner from 1994 to 1996.

Mr Hassan had “matchless relations” with the UK, which stood by it as it charted “its course to democracy through rough waters”.

With Mr Hassan’s announcement, the race for his successor has intensified. The issue has become more urgent because of the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the United Kingdom by the end of current month.

Sources at the Foreign Office said it was likely that a political appointee would succeed him. However, they are not ruling out a career Foreign Service officer taking over.

It is said that Prime Minister Sharif would rely on Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar’s advice for the choice.