ISLAMABAD: The US State Department is delaying the process of giving approval for joining of Pakistan’s ambassador-designate to the United States, Masood Khan. According to officials the delay has created an impression of a pause in the process mainly because of frosty bilateral ties between the two countries.
Masood Khan, who served as Azad Kashmir’s president till last August, has been designated as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US in second week of November 2021. He had previously served as Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva and New York and as ambassador to China.
Masood Khan was to replace the outgoing ambassador of Pakistan in Washington Asad Majeed Khan, but the US State Department was shitting on the process.
In routine, the US State Department used to take four to six weeks to issue approval for Pakistani ambassadors in the past, nonetheless, this time they are taking unusually long time.
The delay has happened at a time when diplomatic relationship between Pakistan and the United States have turned frosty due to change in the geo-political environment.
Officials said the Indian lobby in Washington was looking at the delay as an opportunity for itself and trying to scuttle Masood Khan’s appointment on the pretext of his advocacy for the Kashmiri freedom struggle.
In October 2021, the US had nominated Donald Blome as the new envoy to Pakistan and Islamabad has approved it as per the law.
