Islamabad – The US State Department has received credentials for appointment of former AJK President Masood Khan as Pakistan Ambassador to the United States and started process of his appointment.
“The US administration is likely to approve agreement within this month”, a diplomatic source told The Nation. The credentials were sent by Foreign Office in Islamabad to the Pakistan embassy in Washington which forwarded the credentials to the State Department for further processing and approval. The credentials for appointment of ambassadorial positions are sent to the host government for approval.
The incumbent Ambassador Dr Asad Majeed Khan in Washington would complete his three years term as Ambassador to the United States till January 2022. Diplomatic sources indicated that if the US administration approves agreement of Masood Khan by next month then Ambassador designate Masood Khan will proceed to Washington in January next year to take up his challenging assignment as ambassador.
Masood Khan possesses extraordinary diplomatic skills and experience in multilateral and bilateral diplomacy which would be utilized by him in bringing the tense Pak-US bilateral relations back on track.
It may be recalled that Ambassador-designate Masood Khan has spent more than 12 years in the past in the United States as diplomat and as an envoy to the United Nations and deeply understands the dynamics of the US political and diplomatic system.