White House upset with Pak envoy Jaleel Jilani

WASHINGTON: At a time when Pakistan needs more diplomatic support at the international level, and especially with the American administration to build a positive image of the country, its Ambassador to the US, Jalil Abbas Jilani, got reprimanded by the White House.

In a strongly-worded letter addressed to the ambassador, the White House criticised the actions of Pakistan’s top diplomat, The News learnt here through its source the other day. The source added that the official letter showed displeasure and accused the ambassador of breaching trust and being undiplomatic in his action.

According to the source, the letter was sent in connection with a picture tweeted out by the ambassador in the last week of May this year. The tweeted image showed Ambassador Jilani and his wife with the first lady, Michelle Obama. “It was an absolute delight hosting FLOTUS at Pakistan House today,” Jilani had said in his Tweet.

The said tweet along with the picture dispensed the impression that Ambassador Jilani has close ties with America’s first family. Resultantly, a section of the press also carried out analysis that Michelle Obama and Ambassador Jilani discussed bilateral relations. It is pertinent to mention that the relationship between the two countries was strained. The Obama administration had at that time declined to sell eight fighter jets to Pakistan on subsidy. The US had also back then carried out a unilateral drone strike killing Afghan Taliban Mulla Akhtar Mansour. The two countries were hardly on favourable terms, but the tweet portrayed as if the ambassador had saved the day.

The source said that the White House appeared disappointed by the impression that was forged and reminded in the letter that the first lady’s short stopover at the ambassador’s residence was personal and extracting any political gain out of that was unprofessional.

Mrs Obama was invited to the ambassador’s residence — otherwise known as the Pakistan House — to participate in his son’s graduation party. Ambassador Jilani’s youngest son attended the same school as President Obama’s daughters. The source added that Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry in Islamabad also took notice of the tweet and the embarrassment that followed.

The envoy had to remove the image from his twitter feed a few hours after tweeting it. When asked to comment on the incident, the ambassador in his one-liner reply termed it incorrect.