Photo: Screenshot/JS Bank YouTube
Pakistan’s new ambassador to the United States Ali Jehangir Siddiqui is expected to begin his assignment toward the end of May.
The Pakistani embassy in Washington D.C. has received the agrement from the United States’ government, a necessary step before appointment of a new ambassador.
Meanwhile, current ambassador Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry has sought three weeks from Islamabad to wind up and get ready for departure from Washington D.C. on May 29.
Siddiqui, a successful banker, will assume the ambassadorial assignment just two days ahead of the PML-N government’s completion of the five-year term and installation of a caretaker government that would oversee the Pakistani election process.
The change in the top diplomatic position comes at a time of tense phase in U.S.-Pakistan relations, with both countries struggling to find convergences in the way forward in Afghanistan. The U.S. is reportedly planning to limit the movement of Pakistani diplomats, while Pakistan has already taken the step, which, it says is intended to ensure safety of American diplomats.
