Fatemi’s US visit paying dividends

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) for Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi’s mission in Washington is producing significant outcome since the think-tanks and leaders of the public opinion with whom he has interacted in his four days stay so far developed excellent understanding of Pakistan’s position on bilateral subjects with the United States, regional and international issues interest to both the capitals.

Highly placed diplomatic sources told The News here Thursday that Fatemi mission has got nothing to do with the ceremony where new US President Donald Trump will assume the presidency for four years in Washington.

The Indian media reports early this week about possibility of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s taking part in the ceremony have been termed as mischievous and have no base whatsoever. The impression that it has been aspired in Islamabad for such participation is equally frivolous. The sources reminded that election of Donald Trump as the President of the most powerful country of the world was somewhat a new diplomatic phenomenon since the world at large and capitals haven’t any previous experience of dealing with him and his team.

For the reason, the diplomats regarded the Fatemi mission as intelligent and shrewd diplomatic move for making assessment on the ground of upcoming scenario in Washington D.C.

The Pakistan’s embassy keeping its headquarter in Islamabad fully updated about the engagements of the SAPM in the United States. The prime minister is satisfied about the mission. Tariq Fatemi will be returning next week and the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the United States and President Trump to Pakistan would be worked out once the later is installed in Washington through diplomatic channels on an appropriate occasion, the sources said.

The all-round review of the ties between Islamabad and Washington would be reviewed here in the PM House as Tariq Fatemi returns from Washington where all relevant officials would be in attendance.

In the meanwhile government has taken in principal decision to appoint Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry as country’s new ambassador to the United States. The talented Aizaz will replace Syed Jalil Abbas Jailani who will call it a day in about 15 weeks upon completion of his contractual period end February. The prime minister will have to find a suitable replacement for the top bureaucracy slot in the Foreign Office in between and it appears that the selection would be a difficult task for him to undertake in a couple of weeks, the sources maintained.