US approves Masood as new Pak envoy

The agrément puts at rest speculations that Washington might reject credentials of former AJK president

ISLAMABAD:

The US has approved the appointment of Masood Khan as Pakistan’s next ambassador to Washington, putting at rest speculations that the Americans might reject the credentials of the former president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The agrément for Masood’s appointment was sent to the US State Department in November last year. However, the delay in the approval raised speculations that Washington had reservations over his credentials.

What added to the rumours was a letter written by a US congressman that surfaced earlier this week, suggesting that the Biden administration had placed a “pause” on approving Masood as the new ambassador.

The Foreign Office had denied such reports saying Masood’s “agrément was being processed in the US system”.

On Saturday, the Foreign Office confirmed that the American government had conveyed its agrément to the appointment of Sardar Masood Khan as ambassador of Pakistan to the US.

“Ambassador Khan is a seasoned diplomat, who has served Pakistan with distinction and honour,” FO spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said.

Also read: Pakistan insists US envoy’s appointment on track

“The ambassador-designate would assume his new responsibilities in Washington DC in due course of time,” he added.

Masood would replace Asad Majid, the current Pakistani envoy to Washington.

Speaking about Masood, who also served as a former president of AJK, the Foreign Office spokesperson noted that he “is a highly accomplished diplomat with 40 years of experience in both multilateral and bilateral diplomacy”.

After his retirement, Masood became the AJK president and has been advancing Pakistan’s case for the longstanding Kashmir dispute with India.

Masood has vast experience in multilateral diplomacy and has been a frequent negotiator for Pakistan.
He has served in various diplomatic positions at the Pakistan missions in Beijing, The Hague, and Washington DC.

Masood during his service served as the ambassador to China as well as a permanent representative to the UN.

He also remained a spokesperson for the foreign affairs ministry.

His appointment comes at a critical juncture when the relationship between Islamabad and Washington is undergoing a transformation after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Pakistan has been seeking broad-based engagement with the US covering not just security but economic and other area, but the Biden administration has yet to respond to Islamabad’s overtures.

However, certain recent developments indicate that the US is not seeking complete disengagement from Pakistan.

A US state department spokesperson recently termed Pakistan as a strategic partner and denied the impression that Washington was putting pressure on Islamabad to either choose it or Beijing.

Despite the tense relationship, Pakistan was the number one recipient of US vaccine doses in the region.

Similarly, the US has also appointed a full time ambassador to Pakistan for the first time since 2018.

However, the future of the relationship between the two countries is not certain since President Joe Biden has yet to speak to Prime Minister Imran Khan despite the former being in office for over a year.

Also the deepening cooperation between India and the US is something that worries Pakistani policymakers.