SK Lambah given MoS rank

THE TIMES OF INDIA , Saturday, June 05, 2010
Correspondent :
NEW DELHI: S K Lambah, Prime Minister's special envoy, has been elevated to the rank of a minister of state. Although the elevation is yet to be announced, sources said, the new appointment was done some time ago.

Lambah, one of India's best known diplomats and negotiators, is the government's special envoy for back-channel negotiations with Pakistan. Lambah took over the job in 2005 from former national security adviser, J N Dixit, after his death. During the subsequent four years, Lambah and his Pakistani counterpart Tariq Aziz soldiered through negotiations, and, according to commentators, were close to an "agreement" on Kashmir. But Pervez Musharraf's political problems in 2007 and his ouster in 2008 put paid to all those efforts.

The Asif Zardari government appointed former foreign secretary Riaz Mohammed Khan to be its interlocutor in 2009 and the two sides have even met on a few occasions, the last one being in Bangkok.

Along with Pakistan, Lambah is also the government's special envoy on "Af-Pak" affairs, and is Richard Holbrooke's counterpart. This post was created after the Obama administration concentrated diplomatic and military energies on Afghanistan. Lambah has long experience in this, having led the Indian delegation to the first Bonn conference in 2002.

Lambah has proved to be one of the most indispensable diplomats for the government. Even the previous NDA government valued him greatly. His low-key, almost unobtrusive approach gives him the perfect credentials to conduct some of the most sensitive negotiations with India's most difficult neighbour.

Lambah's elevation was expected, said sources, after Shyam Saran was also elevated to MoS rank. Saran resigned his job as special envoy for climate change and nuclear issues recently.

With Saran's resignation, the PM's office now has a virtually total image makeover and is now a new office from the UPA-1 days. Former national security adviser MK Narayanan exited at the beginning of this year. PM's media adviser Sanjaya Baru quit before the 2009 elections and was replaced by Harish Khare. Former special secretary Pulok Chatterjee also went away on an overseas posting. There are new faces all around.

 
SOURCE :
 


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