Place of posting in FSP? Local or abroad?

[SameerSohail]

Hello.

If one joins Foreign Service group then what would be the place of posting for him? Do newly appointed BS-17 officers work in Islamabad only or can they be posted abroad without their preference? Also, is abroad posting mandatory in one's career in FSP and at what grade does it usually happen? after promotion from BS-17 or while fresh? And for how long a FSP officer usually serves abroad?

Asking this because I need to decide what group/cadre to apply for.

Thanks.

[Mian Fahad]

After completing STP at Foreign service academy, Islamabad , Foreign service officer has to pass FPO examination. After this, Foreign service officer is posted in ministry of foreign affairs, Islamabad as section officer or assistant director. Within a year, they go for language training abroad for learning international language like Chinese, Japanese, Russian, French, Arabic, Turkish, German etc which is mandatory. After completing the course, they come back and serve in ministry of foreign affairs Islamabad for maximum three years. After that they are posted abroad as third secretary(BPS-17) or second secretary(BPS-18) for six years in two different countries. Then they posted in Islamabad as director for maximum three years. Similarly they serve alternatively six years abroad and three years at Islamabad.
As for as I know, Every Diplomat is posted abroad as well as in Islamabad. Two third of the career of a diplomat could be abroad and one third could be at Islambad.