ISLAMABAD: Former military spokesman retired Maj Gen Athar Abbas has been named ambassador to Ukraine.

Maj Gen Abbas will replace retired Maj Gen Wajahat Ali Muftee, who is completing his tenure next month.

Ukraine, which is well-known for its defence industry, has been one of Pakistan’s major military hardware suppliers. Pakistan’s Al-Khalid main battle tanks are fitted with Ukrainian 6TDF diesel engines. Pakistan had also procured a large number of T-80UD tanks from Ukraine in the 1990s.

Recent crisis in Ukraine had left Pakistani officials concerned about Kiev’s ability to fulfil its contractual obligations.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Ukraine has mostly been of the military background because of the defence cooperation between the two countries.

Maj Gen Abbas retired from military service in June 2012. His last assignment in the army was director general of Inter-Services Public Relations.

In other diplomatic postings, former Foreign Office spokesperson and currently ambassador to Italy Ms Tehmina Janjua has been named as permanent representative (ambassador) at the United Nations in Geneva.

Additional Secretary (Europe) at the Foreign Office Nadeem Riyaz will succeed Ms Janjua in Rome.

The Director General of Policy Planning, Ms Riffat Masood, has been named ambassador to Norway in place of Mr Abdul Hamid, who is retiring.

The Consul General in Jeddah, Aftab Khokhar, is moving to Beirut while ambassador and columnist Kamran Shafi will be the envoy to Cuba.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2015

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