WASHINGTON: Pakistan has started the process for the appointment of a new ambassador in Washington, the second in less than six months, diplomatic sources told Dawn.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters in Islamabad last week that the government was sending a new envoy to Washington to replace Ali Jahangir Siddiqui, who was appointed by the previous government. The proposed replacement, Dr Asad Majeed Khan, is a career diplomat currently serving as ambassador to Japan.

The embassy received Dr Khan’s agrément days after the announcement and on Friday forwarded it to the US State Department.

Although the department usually takes more than a month to approve an agrément, Mr Siddiqui’s papers were approved within weeks.

Mr Siddiqui also got his accreditation in a record time. He arrived in Washington on May 28 and presented his credentials to President Donald Trump on June 22.

Dr Khan, who would be Pakistan’s 29th Ambassador to the United States, is not new to Washington. He served as Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires ad interim to the United States from May 2013 to January 2014 and as Deputy Chief of Mission from March 2012 to September 2015.

Welcoming his nomination, a former Pakistani ambassador, Senator Sherry Rehman, said she “strongly cheered” this development. “He held the job for six months after I had resigned and even while I was serving, (he was) a stellar, upright and smart diplomat, able to move with the times and challenges,” she tweeted.

Yet, the appointment will be a major challenge for Dr Khan, as much has changed since he last served here. Pakistan is no longer on the US list of close allies. The Trump administration has suspended security assistance to Pakistan after blaming it for allowing cross-border militant attacks into Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2018