‘Mani Shankar Aiyar was the first CG in Karachi from 1978 to 1981. At a time when public diplomacy was not a term used as frequently as it is now, he personified it in many ways. He was articulate, charming, considerate of Pakistani sentiments and indulgent, to a fault his detractors say. His tenure as consul general has acquired for many Pakistanis a larger-than-life character as he attempted to meet the pent-up demand for visas from the vast mohajir
community. He did so with consideration and good humour that is recalled with warmth. No greater testimony to his functioning can be provided than by the fact that even some three-and-a-half decades later any Indian diplomat visiting Karachi from Islamabad will first be asked about M.S. Aiyar and then be regaled with stories about him.’