Riaz Mohammad Khan holds a master's degree in mathematics and a B.A. (honors) from Punjab University, Lahore. Prior to joining Pakistan's Foreign Service in 1969, Khan taught quantum physics from 1965 to 1969 as assistant professor in the Mathematics Department at Punjab University, Lahore. His diplomatic career began with a posting to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in 1970. He then served seven years at Pakistan's Mission to the

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

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from 1979 to 1986. Khan remained director general of Afghanistan and Soviet affairs at the Foreign Office, during which time he took a sabbatical to serve as a diplomat-in-residence at Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of

Diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

. His other assignments include: * served as Pakistan's first ambassador to

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

(1992–1995). * Ambassador to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(1995–1998). * Additional Secretary in charge of international organizations and arms control issues for Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1998–2002). * Spokesman of the Foreign Office (2000–2001). Khan's last field assignment was as Ambassador of Pakistan to China from 2002 to 2005. He served as Pakistan's foreign secretary from 2005 to 2008. He retired from service in 2008. After his retirement from the Foreign Service, he spent a year as a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. He also served as Pakistan's envoy for "back channel" diplomacy with India from 2009 to 2012.

Books written by Khan

*Untying the Afghan Knot: Negotiating Soviet Withdrawal (Duke University Press, 1991) *Afghanistan and Pakistan: Conflict, Extremism and Resistance to Modernity (Woodrow Wilson Center, Johns Hopkins URiaz Mohammad Khan , Wilson Centerniversity Press, Oxford University Press, 2011).

References

Ambassadors of Pakistan to Belgium Ambassadors of Pakistan to China Ambassadors of Pakistan to the European Union Ambassadors of Pakistan to Kazakhstan Ambassadors of Pakistan to Kyrgyzstan Ambassadors of Pakistan to Luxembourg Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan Living people University of the Punjab alumni Academic staff of the University of the Punjab Year of birth missing (living people) {{Pakistan-diplomat-stub

Books written by Khan

See also

References