A career diplomat, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch took up her post as Pakistan's ambassador to France and permanent delegate to UNESCO in January 2025.
Until that date, she was the spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Assistant Secretary General for Strategic Communications and Public Diplomacy.
Previously, she served as Ambassador of Pakistan to the Republic of Korea (2020-2021); Minister-Counselor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Pakistan in China (2015-2020); Political Affairs Advisor at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington (2006-2011); and Second Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations in Geneva (1999-2002).
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, she successively held the positions of Deputy Secretary General for Asia/Pacific (2022-2023); Director for the Americas (2013-2014), Director for Security Council and Human Rights (2012-2013), and Director for Strategic Planning (2011-2012).
During the 2014-2015 academic year, Ms. Baloch served as Academic Program Director and then Acting Director General of the Foreign Service Academy in Islamabad. Ms. Mumtaz Zahra Baloch holds a master's degree in physics from Punjab University in Lahore, a master's degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in the United States, and a diploma in public administration from the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA) in Paris.