The Foreign Service of Pakistan ( ur, ) is part of the

Central Superior Services The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority, and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of ...

of Pakistan. It was formally created in October 1952, after having been an improvised organization since the creation and

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

in 1947. Its old name was ''Foreign Service of India'' working within the

Indian Civil Service (British India) The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

before 1947. After 1947, its recruitment and hiring of employees is done through the larger organization

Civil Service of Pakistan The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority, and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of ...

. Chaudhry Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan (Urdu: محمد ظفر اللہ خان‎; 6 February 1893 – 1 September 1985) was a Pakistani jurist and diplomat who served as the first

Foreign Minister of Pakistan The Minister of Foreign Affairs (or simply the Foreign Minister) is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Pakistan. The minister is responsible for overseeing the federal governmen ...

. After serving as foreign minister he continued his international career and is the only Pakistani to preside over the International Court of Justice. He also served as the President of the UN General Assembly. He is the only person to date to serve as the President of both

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

and the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

History

Foreign Service of Pakistan was constituted on an ad hoc basis immediately on the birth of Pakistan. The Service was first given an executive fiat in a decision of the Federal Cabinet in July 1948. A formal resolution constituting the service was announced in October 1952. It envisaged diplomatic posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the Diplomatic and consular missions of Pakistan abroad. The resolution provided for the posts of (a) Secretary (1), (b) Joint Secretaries (2), (c) Deputy Secretaries (8), and (d) Under Secretaries (16). Posts for Pakistan Diplomatic Missions abroad provided for Ambassadors (17), High Commissioners (5), Ministers (4), Commissioners (1), Deputy High Commissioners (2), Counselors (15), First Secretaries (10), Second Secretaries (19), Third Secretaries (31), Consul General (3), Consul (4), and Vice Consul (7). Between 1952 and 1960, the cadre strength was constantly kept under review and was enlarged by executive orders in view of the expanding requirements. However, shortage of personnel continued to plague the service. The total strength of the officers gradually increased both at the Headquarters and the Missions. In 1972, the total strength of the officers at the Headquarters and the Missions grew to 323. At present there are 403 officers both at the Headquarters and in our Missions. The entry into the former Foreign Service of Pakistan through examination began in 1948. The Recruitment to the Officers cadre (Foreign Service of Pakistan) is through the competitive examination conducted annually by the

Federal Public Service Commission The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) ( ur, ) is a federal agency of Government of Pakistan that is responsible for recruiting civil servants and bureaucrats for Government of Pakistan. History The Public Service Commission was set ...

(FPSC) of Pakistan. ''Foreign Service of Pakistan'' is among the top three groups along with ''Pakistan Administrative Service'' and ''Police Service of Pakistan.A guide to the Civil Service of Pakistan: Want to change Pakistan? Try joining the government as an honest bureaucrat
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 25 April 2011, Retrieved 15 November 2017 The Establishment Division in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces annually the number of vacancies of officers in the Foreign Affairs Group, which vary from year to year. Officers of the Foreign Service of Pakistan undergo common training at the

Civil Services Academy Situated in Lahore, Pakistan, the Civil Services Academy Lahore is an academy for training the young bureaucrats of the country who are commissioned by the Federal public service commission through a very competitive and tough exam known as Cent ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

and later are given six months specialized training at the

Foreign Service Academy The Foreign Service Academy ( ur, ) in Islamabad, Pakistan is the training arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan. Since its establishment in September 1981, the academy has organized 49 cours ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

. The officers also undergo language learning trainings at various prestigious universities/institutions abroad to learn different languages including

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

etc. Fully funded Language scholarships offered by other countries are also availed. The Ministry thus has a rich reservoir of officers who are well versed in different languages. ''Foreign Service of Pakistan'' is a cadre that runs the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( ur, , ''Wazarat-e-Kharja'', abbreviated as MoFA) is a ministry of the Government of Pakistan tasked in managing Pakistan's diplomatic and consular relations as well as its foreign policy. The MOFA is also respo ...

as well as Pakistan's Embassies/High Commissions/Consulates in other countries of the world.

Ranks

After the initial training period, junior officers join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad and serve in the political, administrative or protocol wings. Or rather begin their diplomatic careers abroad. Rise in ranks at headquarters and missions are: Headquarters: Assistant Director BPS-17 Deputy Director BPS-18 Director BPS-19 Director General BPS-20 Additional/Special Secretary BPS-21 Secretary (head of Deptt.) BPS-22 Missions Abroad: Third Secretary/Vice Consul BS-17 Second Secretary/Consul BS-18 First Secretary/Deputy Consul General BS-19 Consul General/Ambassador/High Commissioner Trivial Areas BS-20 Ambassador/High Commissioner Important Areas BS-21 Note: Consul Generals and other envoys toward low political profile missions and are lower by virtue of rank as well and can be compared with DGs. Ambassadors and High Commissioners toward high profile nations however rank higher and are Special Secretaries; equivalent of administrative Additional Secretaries in national headquarters. Envoy of one Commonwealth country to another is termed High Commissioner.

Progress of women as diplomats

As a result of ''Administrative Reforms of 1972'' under

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and Politician, statesman who served as ...

regime, Foreign Service of Pakistan was opened even much more to women in Pakistan after 1973.Women in diplomacy
Pakistan Today (newspaper), Published 8 March 2012, Retrieved 17 November 2017 Here are some of the distinguished women diplomats: * Begum

Rana Liaquat Ali Khan गुल-इ-राणा ( Kumaoni) , image = Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan (1961).jpg , imagesize = , alt = , smallimage = , caption = Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan in 1961 , alongside = , predecessor = Mir Rasool Bux Talpur , p ...

(Ambassador to

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) ( 1954 – 1961) *

Hina Rabbani Khar Hina Rabbani Khar (Urdu: ; born 19 November 1977) is a Pakistani politician, who is serving as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs since 19 April 2022. She was previously appointed in July 2011 as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan at the ...

(Served as the top diplomat in Foreign Service of Pakistan,

(2011 – 2013) *

Sherry Rehman Sherry Rehman ( ur, ; born 21 December 1960) is a Pakistani politician, journalist and former diplomat who has been the member of the Senate of Pakistan since 2015. She was the first female Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from March to ...

(Ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(2011 – 2013) * Tehmina Janjua (First Woman

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

) (February 2017 to April 2019) * Maleeha Lodhi (Ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(2015 – 2019)

References

External links

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan - official website

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Foreign relations of Pakistan Pakistan, Foreign Service Civil service of Pakistan Pakistan federal departments and agencies

{{Pakistan-gov-stub

History

Ranks

Progress of women as diplomats

See also

References

External links