ISLAMABAD: Ambas­sador Shafqat Ali Khan has been appointed as new spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He will replace Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, who will soon take charge as Pakis­tan’s ambassador to France. Shafqat Khan, 55, currently serving as additional foreign secretary for Europe, is a diplomat with over 30 years of experience in the Foreign Service of Pakistan. Since joining the service in 1993, he has held a range of , including in Russia (2020-23) and Poland (2017-2020), director general for Europe at the Foreign Office (2016-17), deputy permanent representative to Pakistan’s Mission at the United Nations in Geneva (2010-13), and diplomatic advi­ser to the National Asse­mbly speaker (2014-15). Mr Khan has also served as counsellor for political and strategic affairs at Pa­­k­­istan’s Embassy in Beij­ing and on various desks at the headquarters, including India directorate. His academic background inclu­d­­es King’s College, London; Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad; and Uppsala University, Sweden.