Ali Jahangir Siddiqui Steps Down as Pakistan's Envoy to US
Washington, DC: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Ali Jehangir Siddiqui, has stepped down from his post on the directives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Express News reported.
DrAsadMajeed, who is currently serving as the country’s envoy to Japan, will be replacing Siddiqui in Washington. Majeed will depart for Washington in the first week of January. Rizwan Sheikh will be overseeing the affairs of the Pakistani mission till Majeed assumes office.
Siddiqui was appointed by former Premier ShahidKhaqanAbbasi on March 8, 2018, to serve as Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had instructed politically appointed foreign envoys to vacate their offices by December 7. Complying with the order several politically appointed diplomats had stepped down from their post.
Siddiqui had sought an extension of two weeks to vacate office, which was accepted by the foreign ministry.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi earlier announced that the federal government would appoint DrAsadMajeed Khan and NafeesZakaria as Pakistan’s ambassadors to the United States and United Kingdom respectively.
In a Press Conference in Islamabad, Qureshi said NafeesZakaria was being appointed as Pakistan’s High Commissioner in London while Ali Jahangir Siddiqui was being replaced by DrAsadMajeed Khan as the new ambassador in Washington.
DrAsadMajeed Khan is a career Pakistan Foreign Service Officer. During his diplomatic career spanning over 29 years Dr Khan has held following key positions:
Prior to his Ambassadorial assignment in Japan, Dr Khan served as Additional Foreign Secretary (Americas) since August, 2016 to July 2017. He also served as Director General (Americas) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from June 2016 to August, 2016. In his capacity, he was the focal point for relations with the United States of America covering all aspects.
He also served as Director General (West Asia) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from September 2015 to February 2016. In this capacity, he was the focal point of ECO and responsible for overseeing Pakistan’s bilateral relations with Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
DrMajeed served as Pakistan’s Charge d’ Affaires ad interim to the United States from May 2013 to January 2014. Also served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Embassy of Pakistan at Washington (DC) from March 2012 to September 2015.
DrAsad earned his Doctorate in International Economic and Business Law from Kyushu University Japan and has been a resource person at various academic institutions in Pakistan including International Islamic University, Lahore, University of Management Sciences, Foreign Trade Institute of Pakistan and Foreign Services Academy on International Trade, Law and WTO affairs.
He is married and has two children.
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