Ronen Sen may be next High Commissioner to Pak.

By Atul Aneja

NEW DELHI, AUG. 26. A new cycle of postings at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is expected to position Mr. Ronen Sen as India's High Commissioner to Pakistan while Mr. Kanwal Sibal is expected back at South Block as Secretary (West).

Mr. Sen, who is currently India's ambassador to Germany, is expected to replace Mr. Vijay Nambiar who may move to New York as India's Permanent Representative (PR) to the United Nations (UN).

While the decision to post Mr. Nambiar to the UN appears to have been taken, the timing of his departure for New York is a matter of some speculation. According to one view in the Government, Mr. Nambiar may have to stay in Islamabad for some time before moving to the UN headquarters.

Mr. Nambiar's early departure, the sources say, will depend on the retirement of Mr. Kamlesh Sharma, who is currently India's PR at the UN. According to sources, Mr. Sharma, who is to retire by the year-end, may get an extension by around six months.

A possible delay in Mr. Nambiar's posting will, in turn, have a cascading effect on the movement of two other high- profile officers. For instance, without Mr. Nambiar's immediate transfer, Mr. Ronen Sen will not shift to Islamabad soon. Consequently, Mr. T.C.A. Rangachari, a China specialist currently serving in the UN division at South Block, who is to take up Mr. Ronen's place, will also have to wait for some time before travelling to Berlin.

The new round of postings is expected to move Mr. Gopal Gandhi, who is India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, to London. He is likely to fill the slot vacated by the present Indian High commissioner to Britain, Mr. Nareshwar Dayal, who is already on extension and will retire in December, sources say.

The Government appears to have factored Mr. Gandhi's four year stint at London in the mid-nineties, as Director, Nehru Center, and Minister, Culture, in making up its mind. Mr. Nirupam Sen is expected to move to Colombo after Mr. Gandhi's departure.

Both Mr. Gandhi and his colleague in Pakistan, Mr. Vijay Nambiar, have so far served for around a year each in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

At the Headquarters, the retirement of Mr. R.S. Kalha in February 2001 is expected to pave the way for the appointment of Mr. Kanwal Sibal as Secretary (West). Ms. Savitri Kunadi, who is India's Permanent Representative at the U.N. mission in Geneva, is expected to step into his shoes in Paris. Mr. Hardeep Puri, the number two man in the Indian High Commission in London, is likely to fill her place at Geneva.

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