New Delhi

Pakistan’s new High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood formally assumed charge today. Mahmood presented his credentials to President Ram Nath Kovind during a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The envoys of Tanzania, Ghana and Burundi too took charge along with Mahmood.

A career diplomat, Mahmood joined the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1985 and was posted to Ankara on his first overseas assignment from 1991-94. He served in Pakistani missions at DC and New York before being appointed as the ambassador to Thailand. Mahmood’s last posting as ambassador was in Turkey prior to his current India assignment. One of the senior-most diplomats of his country, Mahmood arrived in Delhi on August 16.

A student of history from Qaid-E-Azam University, Islamabad, and International Affairs from Columbia University, New York, Mahmood succeeded Abdul Basit.

Now retired, Basit was envoy for four years and came under sharp criticism by the Narendra Modi government for his meetings with Hurriyat separatists ahead of the India-Pakistan talks.