ISLAMABAD – The US State Department has approved the appointment of Pakistan’s ambassador-designate to the United States, Masood Khan.
Breaking: Pakistan’s newly appointed top envoy to the US, Amb Masood Khan’s agrement approved.
— Wajid Ali Syed (@wajidasyed) February 5, 2022
He will replace the incumbent Pakistani ambassador Asad Majeed Khan as the agrément sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been accepted.
Last year in November, Pakistan nominated former Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan as the new ambassador to the US. Khan, who is also a career diplomat, would replace incumbent Pakistani envoy Asad Majeed Khan.
Earlier this month, Pakistan rubbished Indian media reports about a delay in the appointment of as its envoy to the United States as “baseless”.
Indian media reports claimed that Congressman Scott Perry had written to US President Joe Biden asking him to reject Khan’s nomination.
Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad in a statement termed the “scandalous claims” made by Indian media outlets in their reports.
“This is a part of the wider Indian disinformation campaign to malign Pakistan and those who represent Pakistan, by using fake news to make scandalous claims and baseless allegations,” Asim Iftikhar said in a statement.
“Ambassador Masood Khan is a highly accomplished diplomat with 40 years of experience in both multilateral and bilateral diplomacy. His Agre’ment is being processed in the US system.”
Sardar Masood Khan served as the Azad Kashmir president until August 2021.
He has already served as the Pakistani ambassador to the US. Masood Khan joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1980 and went on to serve in various diplomatic positions.
From August 2003 to March 2005, he served as the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and International Organisations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2005 to 2008, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China between September 2008 and September 2012 and as Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York, between October 11, 2012 and February 7, 2015.
He also served as the Director-General of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad between February 2015 and August 4, 2016.
