Niaz A. Naik (31 May 1926 8 August 2009) was a Pakistani diplomat. He served as

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 ...

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 ...

from 1982 to 1986 and also served as a High Commissioner of Pakistan to India. He played a pivotal role in the back-channel talks during the 1999

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

between India and Pakistan.

Career

Born on 31 May 1926, Naik completed his education from Punjab University and received a master's degree. He joined the Pakistani Foreign Services in September 1949. According to a major newspaper of Pakistan, "As a foreign secretary, he played a key role in the signing of pacts with India on trade, visas and defence". As a diplomat, Naik served in several Pakistani missions. His first posting was in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

where he served from 1951 to 1955,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from 1955 to 1959,

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

from 1960 to 1963,

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

from 1963 to 1965 and

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

from 1965 to 1967. Naik served as the Director General 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 ...

from 1967 to 1970 and as Additional Secretary General from 1974 to 1978. From 1986 to 1990, Naik served as the permanent Representative of Pakistan to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

). Naik served as the Ambassador of Pakistan to

from 1971 to 1974,

from 1978 to 1982 and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Naik was also part of the UN-sponsored international contact group on

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Kargil War

Naik, who also served as High Commissioner to India, played a pivotal role in the back-channel talks during the 1999

between India and Pakistan. He was also instrumental in the back-door negotiations on behalf of Pakistani Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

with R. K. Misra, an aide of then Indian

Prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

Death

Naik was found murdered in his house in the Pakistani capital

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 ...

on August 8, 2009. A postmortem at the

Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences ( ur, , abbreviated as PIMS) is a research oriented health sciences institute located in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is one of the region's leading tertiary level hospitals which includes 22 medical and su ...

hospital revealed that Naik may have been tortured before he was killed. Four ribs and the jaw bone were fractured and his lungs were damaged by a sharp heavy object. His body was discovered 3 or 4 days after his murder. Naik was unmarried and lived alone in Islamabad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naik, Niaz Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan 2009 deaths 1926 births University of the Punjab alumni Ambassadors of Pakistan to France United Nations officials People murdered in Islamabad Assassinated Pakistani diplomats