Naila Chohan was born on 6 May 1958 in Rawalpindi. She is a diplomat and feminist artist. She has been a member of the Board of Governors of the Pakistan Film Censor Board, and of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Employment Corporation of Pakistan, and Inter State Gas System (Pvt). Naila Chohan is also committed to the prohibition of global Chemical Weapons, being the first civilian and woman to head the National Authority on the Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical weapons in Pakistan.
Naila Chohan is currently serving as the Ambassador of Pakistan to Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Ecuador. She has been a vocal proponent of stronger ties between Pakistan and Latin America.
Naila Chohan holds a Masters Degree in International Relations from Quaid-e-Azam University, and a PhD session certificate in International Relations from Centre d'Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégiques in Paris. She also received training at École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts and the École du Louvre in Paris. Naela Chohan also undertook the Executive Development Program (EDP) from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
As a hyperpolyglot, she has demonstrated fluency in English, French, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Persian (acquired at age 35), and Spanish (acquired at age 51).
Naila Chohan's diplomatic assignments have included the High Commission of Pakistan in Ottawa, the Pakistan delegation to United Nations General Assembly 41st (1987) Session and 42nd (1988) Session, and the Embassy of Pakistan in Tehran (1989–1993), and Kuala Lumpur (1997–2001). She is currently serving as the Ambassador of Pakistan to Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Ecuador.
Naila Chohan is also committed to the prohibition of global Chemical Weapons, being the first civilian and woman to head the National Authority on the Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical weapons in Pakistan.
In addition to her service as a career diplomat, she has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Employment Corporation of Pakistan and the Inter State Gas System Limited (Pvt); and a member of the Central Board of Film Censors. She was also unanimously elected Chairperson of the Asia Pacific Development Center (APDC), Kuala Lumpur (1998–2000).
In April 2011, The Pakistani embassy in Argentina unearthed a plan allegedly prepared by the United States and some other countries to arrest Pakistani immigrants and transfer them to the US. In a report submitted to the government, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Argentina Naila Chohan said that it seemed to be an effort to malign Pakistanis. According to the investigation carried out by the Embassy, the arrested Pakistanis were legal settlers living in Ecuador for decades. The investigation found that the arrested Pakistanis were maltreated, beaten and forced to sign some documents, agreeing to “voluntarily return” to their country. In her report, the Pakistani ambassador referred to a meeting with US Ambassador to Argentina and Special Agent of the Homeland at which she raised the issue of 32 Pakistanis detained during a joint operation conducted by the US government and Ecuador.
The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Naila Chohan joined on 19 May, as observer, the Committee of Representatives of the Latin American Integration Association, ALADI. Pakistan, after China (1994), Korea (2004) and Japan (2004), is the fourth Asian country to be incorporated as an observer to the ALADI. Ambassador Carmen Pérez Zilia Mason, in his capacity as Chairperson of the Committee of Representatives, welcomed the arrival of Ambassador Chohan, while stressed "its strong interest in issues of integration and the important role [Pakistan] plays in these Latin American countries." In another passage of his speech, Ambassador Perez Mason expressed confidence that "through its presence in our Association as an observer, the Representative of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, ALADI would foster closer relations with [Pakistan] and the rest the of the Asian continent."
Naila Chohan unveiling the Allama Iqbal plaque at the Plaza de Pakistan, Buenos Aires (2012)
The inauguration ceremony of Plaza de Pakistan was planned between Pakistan's Independence Day on August 14 and Independence Day of Argentina on July 9. It was also to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two friendly countries. The ceremony included the ribbon cutting by Ambassador Naila Chohan and Minister Diego Santilli followed by unveiling of the plaque with an engraving of a verse by Allama Iqbal which emphasises the importance of love for humanity.
Minister Diego Santilli in his speech, while appreciating the Ambassador Naela Chohan for her role in the renovation of the Park, stated that the whole world was reflected in the City of Buenos Aires through its monuments, squares and parks and that Pakistan had a very special place in it.
Ambassador Chohan, in her speech thanked Chief of Government Mauricio Macri and Minister Diego Santilli for their support and added that “We deeply appreciate this important gesture of friendship and we need to further deepen these bonds of friendship through mutually beneficial co-operation in trade and culture”.
Naila Chohan is married to Musa Javed Chohan, and has two children, Usman Waqqas Chohan and Ibrahim Abubakr Chohan.
