US accepts Aizaz as Pak envoy

ISLAMABAD: The US government has accepted the appointment of Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry as Pakistan’s Ambassador.

He will replace Syed Jalil Abbas Jillani who will complete his contractual tenure mid-February but has been asked to stay on in Washington till the arrival of his successor early March. The formal ‘agreemaunt’ (consent) of the US State Department has been received by Islamabad.

The new Foreign Secretary will take the charge in the first week of the next month immediately after the selection of grade 22 officer. It fell vacant after the superannuation of Secretary National Security Division (NSD) Muhammad Sadiq who belongs to the Foreign Service and opted not to take extension in his service. 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has completed initial consultations for appointment of new officer against the slot.  Highly placed sources told The News here other day that the Foreign Office had consigned folders of four of its grade 22 officers to Prime Minister Nawaz last month for picking one to appoint new Foreign Secretary. 

The sources pointed out that Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry has been asked to delay his departure for a month. He is likely to leave for US immediately after the ECO summit, the sources said. 

Meanwhile, the sources revealed that selection board for promotion of grade 21 officers to grade 22 of the Foreign Office would take place on January 30.  The board would recommend one of the eight officers of grade 21 for promotion to grade 22. 

The sources revealed that the prime minister decided that selection of new Foreign Secretary would be taken place after the board’s meeting. The sources hinted that Pakistan’s Ambassador to Turkey Sohail Mahmood could be the choice for the slot. Afrasiab Mehdi Qureshi, Iftikhar Aziz, Ms Tasnim Aslam, Farrukh Amil, Syed Ibrar Hussain and Aitzaz Ahmad are the other grade 21 officers who are waiting in their wings for the promotion. Afrasiab Mehdi Qureshi is currently Pakistan’s high commissioner to New Zealand, Iftikhar Aziz is Additional Foreign Secretary for Administration in headquarters, and Ms Tasnim Aslam is Additional Foreign Secretary for the United Nations affairs as she also served as spokesperson for the Foreign Office, Farrukh Amil is Pakistan’s Ambassador to Japan and Syed Ibrar Hussain is ambassador to Afghanistan. The selection board will be headed by Secretary to Prime Minister (SPM) Fawad Hasan Fawad. It is expected that prime minister will approve the appointment of new Foreign Secretary in the first week of next month after receiving the board’s findings. Pakistan’s former ambassador to France and Chief of Protocol (CP) Ghalib Iqbal, Pakistan’s permanent representative for the United Nations Geneva headquarter Ms Tehmina Janjua, country’s high commissioners to India Abdul Basit and United Kingdom Ibne Abbas are among the contenders if already occupying grade 22 officers of the Foreign Office are to be considered for the replacement of the Foreign Secretary, the sources added.