Ali Jahangir Siddiqui took charge as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States.
Shortly after assuming charge, Siddiqui chaired an introductory meeting with the officials at the embassy in Washington, DC.
Siddiqui’s appointment came just four days before the end of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s government and sources said the ambassador-designate left for the US via Abu Dhabi on Saturday night at 8:40pm.
The appointment raised many questions and diplomats expressed their surprise over the decision. In their inaugural demand to incoming caretaker prime minister Nasirul Mulk, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday urged the former to immediately withdraw notification regarding appointment of Ali Jahangir Siddiqui as Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States.
Previously, he served as a special assistant to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. A banker by profession, Siddiqui is the chairman of JS Bank and JS Private Equity and is the son of business tycoon Jahangir Siddiqui.
The ambassador is well-versed with the public sector, having served as member of the Privatisation Commission, member of the Private Sector Advisory Board of the Planning Commission, member of the Sindh Board of Investment, and as a member of the Community Development Board of the government of Sindh.
Siddiqui holds a BA in economics from Cornell University in New York and was honoured by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2014.
