Javid Husain


Javid Husain, is a Diplomat, from the Foreign Service of Pakistan, who has had a distinguished career during which he served as the Ambassador of Pakistan to the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea and Iran. During his tenure at Tehran, he was also the Pakistan Permanent Representative to the Economic Cooperation Organization.
In August 1999, Ambassador Javid Husain was promoted to BPS-22, the highest grade in the Pakistan civil service. From January 2003 to March 2004, he was the senior most serving officer of the Foreign Service of Pakistan. His last position within the Foreign Service of Pakistan was as the Head/Director-General of the Foreign Service Academy from 2003 to 2004.
Ambassador Javid Husain is also a published author and a regular columnist, with a focus on International relations, Public policy and Economic development.
Currently, he writes a fortnightly column for the daily The Nation newspaper.
He has previously also written for the daily DAWN and the daily The News International newspapers.
Currently, Ambassador Javid Husain serves as the President of the Lahore Council for World Affairs. He is also Chairman of the Mumtaz Husain Benevolent Trust.

Education

Javid Husain did his B.A. from Government College, Lahore in 1963 securing the first position in the Punjab University. He secured his B.A. in Economics from Government College, Lahore/Punjab University in 1964 and his M.A. in Economics from the Punjab University in 1965 with distinctions.
From 1975 to 1978, he attended several seminars on international relations at the School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University.
Javid Husain is fluent in English, Persian, Urdu, and Punjabi. He has working knowledge of French, having taken Third and Fourth degree language courses in French from Alliance française in Paris, France. He is also familiar with Arabic.

Early career

Javid Husain, after his initial training in the Pakistani diplomatic service, served on diplomatic assignments in various capitals of the world from 1969 to 1978, before returning to Islamabad, Pakistan to serve at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1978 to 1981. He then again served on foreign diplomatic assignments from 1982 till 1988, before again returning to Islamabad to serve at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1988 to 1992.

France

From September 1969 to September 1971, he served as Third Secretary in the Embassy of Pakistan, Paris, France.

Libya

From September 1971 to September 1974, he served as Third Secretary/Second Secretary in the Embassy of Pakistan, Tripoli, Libya.

United States

From September 1974 to July 1978, he served as First Secretary in the Embassy of Pakistan, Washington, D.C., US

Foreign Office, Islamabad

Director (Afghanistan)

From July 1978 to 1980, he served as Director in the Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Director (Foreign Secretary's Office)

Later he served as Director from 1980 to December 1981.

United Nations

From January 1982 to April 1985, Javid Husain served as Counsellor and later as Minister in the Pakistan Mission to United Nations, New York City where he represented Pakistan in the UN General Assembly and its Third and First Committees besides several other UN bodies/organs like the Security Council, the Disarmament Commission, the Committee on the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace, the Commission on the establishment of nuclear weapon-free zones, and the governing bodies of UNICEF, UNFPA, CERD, etc...

China

From May 1985 till July 1988, Javid Husain served as Minister/Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Pakistan, Beijing, China.

Foreign Office, Islamabad

Director General (UN and EC)

From July 1988 to May 1991, Javid Husain served as Director General at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, Pakistan. In this role, he supervised all matters relating to the UN and its subsidiary/affiliated organs.

Additional Foreign Secretary (UN & Policy Planning) & Official Spokesperson

Later, from May 1991 to December 1992, he served as Additional Foreign Secretary/Deputy Foreign Minister supervising both the United Nations and Policy Planning Divisions of the Foreign Office, besides acting as the Official Spokesperson of the Foreign Office.
;Participation in International Delegations
During this combined period, he represented Pakistan in numerous conferences/meetings of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as well as bilateral delegations to key countries like USA & China. These include the following:-
From December 1992, till August 2003, Javid Husain served as an Ambassador of Pakistan to several countries in Europe and Asia.
In August 1999, Ambassador Javid Husain was promoted to BPS-22, the highest grade in the Pakistan civil service. From January 2003 till his retirement in March 2004, he was the senior most officer of the Foreign Service of Pakistan.

Netherlands

Ambassador Javid Husain served as the Ambassador of Pakistan to the Netherlands from December 1992 to December 1995. During this period he also led the Pakistan delegation to the Preparatory Commission for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

South Korea

From December 1995 to September 1997 he served as the Ambassador of Pakistan to South Korea. During this period, he was responsible for arranging the bilateral visit of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to South Korea from 22 to 24 July 1996.

Iran

In September 1997, he assumed charge as the Ambassador of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Iran where he served till August 2003. During this period he also served as the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the Economic Cooperation Organization.
While posted in Iran, he was responsible for arranging several high-level visits by the leaders of Pakistan and Iran to each other. These include the visits of:
;Heads of State & Government
;Future Head of Government
;Foreign Ministers
;Cabinet Ministers & senior Military/Intelligence officials
During this period, he also represented Pakistan in numerous conferences/meetings of the ECO and the OIC, as well as bilateral commissions of Pakistan & Iran. These include the following:-
Following his return to Islamabad, he served as the Head/Director-General of the Foreign Service Academy from September 2003 to March 2004.

Economic Cooperation Organization – Eminent Persons Group

In 2004, he represented Pakistan in the Economic Cooperation Organization Eminent Persons Group, which had been mandated by the Organization to look into ways and means of improving the ECO's efficiency and effectiveness in the achievement of its goals and objectives.

Post-ambassadorial career

Since his retirement from the Foreign Service of Pakistan, Ambassador Javid Husain has continued to remain engaged with diplomacy, both as a special envoy/representative for Pakistan in various forums, as well as in the role of the President of the Lahore Council for World Affairs.
He has also been engaged in academic and scholarly activities. He is a regular columnist and contributor to national dailies/journals, and frequently gives lectures at prestigious institutions.
In addition, he has been engaged in social welfare activities in Pakistan, with a focus on provision of accessible health-care and education.

Special Envoy

At the end of January 2005, Ambassador Javid Husain attended the African Union Summit at Abuja, Nigeria as the Special Envoy of the President of Pakistan to convey to African leaders Pakistan's point of view on the reform and expansion of the UN Security Council.
In February 2009, at the invitation of the OIC Secretary General, he attended a consultative meeting at Jeddah on the establishment of the OIC Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights.

ASEAN Regional Forum – Experts and Eminent Persons

From 2006 to 2008, Ambassador Javid Husain represented Pakistan in the ASEAN Regional Forum's Experts and Eminent Persons group.
He attended the following meetings of the ARF EEPs as a representative of Pakistan:
In October 2015, Ambassador Javid Husain was appointed a Visiting Scholar at the South Asia Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.
Ambassador Javid Husain has been writing articles for reputable journals and Pakistani dailies like the DAWN and The Nation. Currently he writes a fortnightly column for the daily The Nation.
He also delivers lectures at prestigious Universities, think tanks, and training institutions on foreign policy issues.
In addition, he also frequently appears on TV news & current affairs shows as an expert to discuss foreign policy and economic issues.

Lahore Council for World Affairs

Ambassador Javid Husain was elected as the President of the Lahore Council for World Affairs in May 2012.
Under his supervision, the Council has organised a number of panel discussions on such subjects as post-2014 Afghanistan, liberalisation of Pakistan-India trade, etc... He has also organised the Council's meetings with visiting scholars from abroad.
Under his direction, the Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Punjab in April 2013 on mutual collaboration in the organisation of seminars and workshops on foreign policy issues.

Mumtaz Husain Benevolent Trust

Since June 2007, Ambassador Javid Husain has been the Chairman of the Mumtaz Husain Benevolent Trust, which is engaged in social welfare activities in Pakistan.
Under his supervision the Trust has been running a free dispensary in Jhang, in southern Punjab, since 2008; and has been providing scholarships to needy students in Chenab College, Jhang since 2011.
He also directed the flood-relief efforts that MHBT undertook in Jhang district in August 2010.

Major publications

Books