| Spokesperson says Masood’s agreement under process in US
| Terms Indian media reports being part of Delhi’s propaganda
From Our Diplomatic Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar rejected Indian media reports on Tuesday regarding a delay in the appointment of Sardar Masood Khan as the envoy to the US, saying the “agrément [of Masood] is being processed in the US system”.
Referring to Indian media claims, the spokesperson said, “This is a part of the wider Indian disinformation campaign to malign Pakistan and those who represent Pakistan, by using fake news to make scandalous claims and baseless allegations.”
Speaking about Masood, who also served as the former president of Azad Jammu Kashmir, Iftikhar noted that Ambassador Masood Khan “is a highly accomplished diplomat with 40 years of experience in both multilateral and bilateral diplomacy”.
After his retirement, Masood became the AJK president and has been advancing Pakistan’s case for the longstanding Kashmir dispute with India. Masood has vast experience in multilateral diplomacy and has been a frequent negotiator for Pakistan.
He has served in various diplomatic positions at the Pakistan missions in Beijing, The Hague, and Washington DC. Masood during his service served as the ambassador to China as well as a permanent representative to the United Nations. He also remained a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
His appointment came at a time when relations between Pakistan and the US are facing an uncertain future. Since the US exit from Afghanistan, there is no clarity about the kind of relationship the US wants to maintain with Pakistan.
Although Pakistan has been seeking broad-based ties with the US covering all aspects, the US has so far given little indication if it is ready to enhance the scope of ties beyond security and Afghanistan.
It is perhaps because of this reason that President Joe Biden has not yet spoken to Prime minister Imran Khan despite being in office for nine months.
There has been some movement on the ties in recent months after the Biden administration named a full-time ambassador to Pakistan.
The US has not had a full-time ambassador since August 2018.
