Ambassador Najm us Saqib: If Pakistan had not come into being, I would have been a junior clerk.

Ambassador Najm us Saqib was born on September 22, 1960, in Sialkot. Holder of a master's degree in national security and war studies at the National Defense University (NDU), he is also a law graduate. In addition, he is the first and only civilian officer in the history of Pakistan to be selected for the war course at the NDU. The foreign secretary described this achievement as a singular honor for both the officer and the ministry. He is one of the youngest Pakistani ambassadors. He is widely considered one of the finest diplomats produced by Pakistan. He wanted to become a poet and author while his mother wanted him to join the Foreign Service. Somehow, both wishes came true. He has authored seven books of poetry and prose and was conferred upon the "Excellence in Literature" award in 2011. Having joined the Foreign Ministry in 1985, he served in various countries of the world, including Bangladesh, Spain, Azerbaijan, Kenya and Canada. He served as the first ever resident ambassador of Pakistan to Cuba from 2007 to 2010. He was ambassador to South Africa with concurrent accreditation to Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland (2014-2017) and to Brazil with concurrent accreditation to Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela (2017-2020) Promoted to grade 22, the higest grade for Pakistani civil servants, in June 2020, and was appointed the director general of the Foreign Service Academy in July 2020. While in active service, he had a second career as a radio and TV host and continues as an analyst on domestic and international issues. In addition to being a media commentator, he lectures at the Foreign Service Academy, Islamabad, Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services and the Civil Services Academy, Lahore. Here is a link to one of his recent articles: https://www.nation.com.pk/23-Jan-2023... ([email protected]) **************************************************** Shakil Chaudhary is an alumnus of Government College, Lahore. Subsequently, he studied international relations at Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad and media at the London School of Economics. He has worked for several English-language newspapers. He has written a critically acclaimed book, Handbook of Functional English (Ferozsons), to help those who wish to improve their English skills. He has conducted many workshops on communication, writing and critical thinking skills. He is a former president of the Progressive Writers Association, Islamabad (2021-2022). If you want to see his most popular videos, here are the links to them.    • Why didn't Jinnah implement Islam in Pakis...      • Prof. Hoodbhoy: Pakistan is not a normal c...      • Shahid Siddiqui: The partition ruined Indi...      • Prof. Ishtiaq Ahmed: Muslims Started the C...   You are welcome to follow him on Facebook and Twitter.   / shakil.chaudary     / shakchaudhary