MJ AKBAR LANDS SOUGHT-AFTER DEPARTMENTS IN FOREIGN MINISTRY

NEW DELHI: MJ Akbar, the new junior minister in the foreign ministry, has landed plum departments as compared to his colleague VK Singh.

The journalist-turnedCongress politician-turned BJP politician will handle the Gulf, European Union, Western European countries barring France, Germany and United Kingdom, Central Asia, United Nations and Counter-terrorism.

Akbar a biographer of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, will also be in-charge of the ministry’s think tank, Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA).

Nehru was regular visitor to Sapru House, the building that houses Indian Council for World Affairs in the city, to interact with scholars, intellectuals and academics.

The noted writer and editor will also look after the library section as well as the West Africa division. “Suave and sophisticated, Akbar is known as a writer and journalist in many parts of the world, mostly in the Gulf. That advantage can be leveraged,” says MK Bhadrakumar, former career diplomat and commentator. Haj affairs, however, has been assigned to VK Singh.

The induction of Akbar into the ministry also sends out a domestic message of the BJP recognising talent among the Muslims. Singh continues to look after departments such as Africa, Latin American countries and part of administration among others. The other departments that Singh, a former chief of the Indian army, looks into are establishment, protocol, foreign service institute, and political clearance.