New High Commissioner of Pakistan Exchanges Views with Commander of the Army

The newly-appointed High Commissioner of Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Sri Lanka, Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat paid a courtesy call on Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army this evening (29) at the Army Headquarters.

During the audience with the Commander of the Army, Pakistan’s High Commissioner Dr. Shahid Hashmat conveyed his best wishes to the Army Commander and expressed his readiness to further strengthen bilateral and Army-to-Army relations with Sri Lanka.

Major General Piyal Wickramaratne, Director General General Staff (DGGS) at the entrance to the Commander’s office warmly welcomed the envoy and ushered him to the Commander’s Office.

Towards the end of this interaction, the newly-appointed High Commisioner placed his signature in the visitors’ book at the Commander’s Office. Around the same time, the visiting diplomat presented a symbolic memento to the Commander of the Army before his departure and the gesture was reciprocated.

Major General Dr. Shahid Ahmad Hashmat (Rtd), Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) was commissioned in the Pakistan Army in March 1979 and has a wide experience of command, staff and instructional assignments.

He also has served with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force as Contingent Commander in Haiti (1997-98) and as a Mission Planning Officer and the Officer in Charge, Generic Planning Unit in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations Secretariat, New York (1999-2001). He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations (2001) and a Post-Doctorate in International Cooperation (2014).