Countries belonging to the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...

typically exchange High Commissioners rather than

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

s. Though there are a few technical differences, they are in practice the same office. The following persons have served as British High Commissioner to the

Islamic Republic of 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 ...

. The state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 in the eastern and northwestern regions of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. In 1972, Pakistan temporarily withdrew from the Commonwealth, and until it rejoined in 1989, the mission in

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 ...

became an Embassy, headed by an Ambassador. The High Commissioner is based at the British High Commission in Islamabad.

List of heads of mission

High Commissioners to Pakistan

*1947–1951: Sir Laurence Grafftey-Smith *1951–1954: Sir Gilbert Laithwaite *1954–1961: Sir Alexander Symon *1961–1965: Sir Morrice James *1966–1971: Sir Cyril Pickard

Ambassadors to Pakistan

*1972–1976: Sir Laurence Pumphrey *1976–1979:

John Bushell John Bushell (March 18, 1715 January 22, 1761) was the first printer in what is now Canada. Biography Bushell was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was apprenticed as a printer there. He subsequently worked for a number of different printers and ...

*1979–1984: Sir Oliver Forster *1984–1987: Richard Fyjis-Walker *1987–1989: Nicholas Barrington

High Commissioners to Pakistan

*1989–1994: Sir Nicholas Barrington *1994–1997: Sir Christopher MacRae *1997–2000: Sir David Dain *2000–2003: Sir Hilary Synnott *2003–2006: Sir Mark Lyall Grant *2006–2010: Robert Brinkley *2010–2013: Sir Adam Thomson *2014–2016:

Philip Barton Sir Philip Robert Barton (born 18 August 1963) is a British diplomat, currently the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. He was previously British High Commissioner to India; he was High Commissioner ...

Change of British High Commissioner
British High Commission Islamabad, 11 February 2016 *2016-2019: Thomas Drew *2019–2022:

Christian Turner Christian Philip Hollier Turner (born 19 August 1972) is a British diplomat serving as Political Director of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office since 2023. He previously served as British High Commissioner to Pakistan from 2019 to ...

*2022– present: Andrew Dalgleish (acting)British envoy predicts resumption of high level visits between Pak, UK
''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

'', 22 January 2023, accessed 7 March 2023

References

External links

UK and Pakistan
gov.uk {{Lists of heads of UK diplomatic missions

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 ...

United Kingdom High Commissioners Pakistan and the Commonwealth of Nations United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations