Riaz Khokhar in New Delhi on June 28, 2004 (cropped)

Riaz Hussain

Khokhar Khokhar are a Punjabi community native to Pothohar Plateau of Pakistan, and the adjoining areas of India. Khokhars now predominantly follow Islam, though a minority continue to follow Hinduism. Many Khokhars converted to Islam from Hinduism af ...

( ur, ریاض کھو کھر) (born 31 December 1942)Profile of Riaz Hussain Khokhar on Google Books website (page 404)
Retrieved 28 October 2022 is a retired Pakistani diplomat who served as the

Foreign Secretary of Pakistan The Foreign Secretary of Pakistan (Urdu: ) is the Federal Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Secretary, as in all other ministries of Government of Pakistan, is the bureaucratic head of the Ministry, who is a BPS-22 grade officer o ...

from June 2002 to February 2005. Khokhar also served as Pakistan's ambassador to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(1992–1997), 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 territori ...

(1997–1999) and China (1999–2002) before leading the top post of foreign ministry as

Career

Riaz Khokhar joined the

Foreign Service of Pakistan The Foreign Service of Pakistan ( ur, ) is part of the Central Superior Services of Pakistan. It was formally created in October 1952, after having been an improvised organization since the creation and independence of Pakistan in 1947. Its o ...

on 10 October 1966. In September 2003, Riaz Khokhar briefed a group of Kashmiri leaders on the upcoming India-Pakistan talks before he left for

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

for talks with India. In 2004, former president of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, Sardar

Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan Sardar Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan (also known as ʻAbdul Qayyūm K̲h̲ān, Urdu: سردار محمد عبدالقيوم خان) was a Kashmiri politician who also served as the president and the prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). ...

reportedly said, "The Kashmiri leadership supported the composite dialogue between the two countries but noted that the talks should not be held at the expense of Kashmir." Again in 2004,

All Parties Hurriyat Conference All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) is an alliance of 26 political, social and religious organizations formed on 9 March 1993, as a united political front to raise the cause of Kashmiri separatism in the Kashmir conflict. Mehmood Ahmed Sagh ...

of Kashmir also expressed their support to the ongoing dialogue between

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. They reportedly said that the talks should continue until the Kashmir dispute is resolved. On 29 June 2004, Pakistani Foreign Secretary, Riaz Khokhar stated, "In my judgement I found and saw that the Indian side was serious and committed and determined to move forward on the composite dialogue."

Career

References

External links