T C A Raghavan, the new Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, presented his credentials to President Asif Ali Zardari today.
The ceremony coincided with India's Independence Day. Raghavan arrived in Islamabad last month to replace Sharat Sabharwal, who was given several extensions after reaching the age of retirement last year.
Raghavan is taking over as the envoy at a time of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over incidents of firing across the Line of Control. Bilateral relations soured last week after five Indian soldiers were killed in an attack by Pakistani troops.
Shortly after he arrived in Pakistan, Raghavan expressed a desire to work for normalising bilateral relations. He is expected to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif next week, officials said.
Raghavan served as Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad about a decade ago. During his last stint in Pakistan, he served under Shivshankar Menon, who went on to become the Foreign Secretary.
An officer of the 1982 batch of the IFS, Raghavan has wide-ranging experience of Pakistan affairs and is highly regarded by Pakistani intellectuals and politicians.
He also served as High Commissioner to Singapore and headed a division in the Ministry of External Affairs dealing with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
Raghavan had to wait for some time for presenting his credentials since President Zardari was away from Islamabad for the past few weeks. Zardari is set to step down early next month at the end of his five-year term.
