Ajay Bisaria India's next ambassador to Pakistan

Seasoned diplomat Ajay Bisaria, currently the Indian ambassador to Poland, has been appointed the country's top envoy to Pakistan.

The 1987-batch IFS officer will succeed Gautam Bambawale, who was last month posted to China.

"He is expected to take up his assignment shortly," the ministry said in an official statement.

Bisaria's posting comes at a time when there is chill in Indo-Pak ties following a series of terror strikes in India, including Uri and Pathankot attacks, by Pakistan-based terror groups.

India had also pulled out of the SAARC summit, to be hosted by Pakistan last year, citing cross-border terrorism from that country.

After training at the Foreign Service Institute here, Bisaria chose Russian as his language of specialisation and was posted at the Indian Embassy in Moscow (1988-1991) where he was attached to the economic and political wings of the embassy.

Bisaria also held position of the private Secretary to the prime minister from 1999 to 2004.

From January 2015, he has served as India's Ambassador to Poland, based in Warsaw, with concurrent accreditation to Lithuania.

Photograph: @Ajaybis /Twitter