Tehmina Janjua becomes Pakistan’s first woman foreign secretary

Earlier, local media reports had said Pakistan’s high commissioner to India Abdul Basit and its envoy to China Masood Khalid were among the front-runners. Janjua is a seasoned diplomat with a career spanning over 32 years. She holds Master’s degrees from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad and Columbia University, New York.

Janjua has rich experience of working in bilateral and multilateral domains both at Headquarters and Missions abroad, the statement said.

She also served as Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistan’s envoy to Italy.

At present she is serving as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in Geneva since October 2015. Last year, she had raised Kashmir issue at the UNHRC and was engaged in a war of words with Indian diplomats