N N Vohra will continue to be the Centre's interlocutor on Jammu and Kashmir.
The Manmohan Singh government issued the orders on Wednesday, more than a week after the 70-year-old former Union home secretary quit the post, sources said in New Delhi.
The National Democratic Alliance government had appointed Vohra in February 2003.
He held talks with various groups in J&K, which paved the way for talks between former deputy prime minister Lal Kishenchand Advani and the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.