Meet Geetika Srivastava, the First Indian Woman to Head India's Mission in Pakistan

Geetika Srivastava, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer from the batch of 2005, will be the first woman to head India's mission in Pakistan since the independence of the nation. After M. Suresh Kumar, who is likely to return to New Delhi, Srivastava will serve as the charge d'affaires (CDA) in Islamabad.

The CDA is the highest senior diplomat in charge of India's mission in the bordering nation after both countries decreased the status of diplomats in each other's capitals. There aren't any high commissioners for either country at the moment.

Srivastava is in charge of managing the Indo-Pacific zone while serving as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) head office at the moment. She performed diplomatic service at the Indian Embassy in China from 2007 to 2009 after becoming proficient in Mandarin as part of her study of foreign languages. She acquired additional experience working at the Regional Passport Office in Kolkata and holding the position of Director for the MEA's Indian Ocean Region division.

Meet Geetika Srivastava, the First Indian Woman

Since 1947, when Sri Prakasa was assigned to the then-Dominion of Pakistan as the Indian High Commissioner, New Delhi has only ever been represented by men; there have been 22 heads of mission during that time.

Ajay Bisaria served as the most recent Indian High Commissioner to Islamabad. His position was terminated when Pakistan decided to downgrade the High Commission as a reaction to the repeal of Article 370 in 2019.

Although not at the highest level, women diplomats have previously been assigned to Pakistan. Due to Islamabad's designation as a "non-family" posting for Indian diplomats a few years ago, it is also regarded as a difficult posting. This typically prevents female officers from accepting the post in Pakistan.

Although there have been female ambassadors stationed in Pakistan in the past, they haven't occupied the top positions. Serving in Islamabad is regarded as a difficult assignment because, until recently, Indian diplomats were not allowed to post there with their families, because Islamabad is designated as "non-family". This frequently discourages female officers from accepting missions in Pakistan.