Golf enthusiast Sohail Mahmood faces first big diplomatic test

Mahmood joined the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1985 as a career diplomat

One of the greatest laments of Sohail Mahmood as Pakistani High Commissioner to Thailand (2009-13) was that he was still a novice golfer. “As for disappointments, the first is that I am not yet a good golfer! Seriously, I wouldn’t say there have been any real disappointments, but there are certain areas where we would like to progress more quickly. For instance, trade liberalisation between the two countries, which I would like to move at a faster pace because of the mutual benefits,” he said about ties between Pakistan and Thailand, to an interviewer in 2012.
 
He returned to