US pauses Masood Khan's appointment as Pak Ambassador

Gulf Today Report

The US State Department has been taking unusually long to process the appointment of Pakistan’s Ambassador-designate to Washington, Masood Khan and the delay has triggered an impression of a pause in the process, Dawn reported.

Khan, who served as President of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) till last August, was nominated as Ambassador to the US in November.

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He had previously served as Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva and New York and as Ambassador to China.

Khan was to replace the outgoing Ambassador of Pakistan in Washington Asad Majeed Khan, according to IANS.

The request for agreement for Masood Khan had been sent to the State Department in the second week of November, a Pakistani diplomat said.

The agreement is the approval of a designated diplomat by the receiving state.

Normally, the State Department took four to six weeks to issue agreement for Pakistani ambassadors in the past, a former foreign secretary said.

"This time they are taking unusually long," Dawn news quoted another diplomat as saying.

The delay has occurred at a time when ties between the two allies have turned increasingly frosty due to the geo-political environment.

People in the Foreign Office believe that the delay was because of Masood Khan's last position as the president of PoK.