Pak envoy to US in limbo after Imran Khan's foreign conspiracy row
Jul 26, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], July 26 : With the ouster of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan's government and his outbursts against the US allegedly conspiring to throw him out of power, the country's Ambassador to the US, Sardar Masood Khan, is now left confused and embarrassed about how to tackle the diplomatic affairs, media reports said.
According to the reports, the envoy is in a rather awkward situation where the ouster of Imran Khan has left the representative in the doldrums on how to tread the diplomatic path with the new administration in power, Pakistan's local media outlet The News Today reported.
The envoy was also the former President of the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and he was appointed in his position by Imran Khan. Imran at the time of Masood's appointment sought to give impetus to Islamabad's ties with Washington. However, now with the change of guards in Pakistan, he now does not know how to tackle diplomatic affairs.
Forget about good relations with the US President Joe Biden, the envoy now does not even have an idea about what kind of policy he needs to maintain in the capital, as per the media portal.
During the envoy's recent visit to Houston, he was heard talking about his confusion over the rapid changes in Pakistan's politics openly.
The Ambassador who was in Houston for a couple of days said that he, along with other high-level Pakistani diplomats, was confused over the rapid changes in Islamabad.
A businessman in Houston quoted Sardar Masood Khan telling a private gathering, "First Imran Khan's statements got us in trouble, then his anti-American campaigns and now coalition of different political parties in the Federal government is trying to impose their respective agendas."
Due to the embarrassment, at times, the diplomats had to avoid American officials since it was difficult for them to defend their premier.
As if this was not enough, now leg pulling between Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) over some foreign policy matters have once again put them under tremendous pressure.
According to the sources in Pakistan's diplomatic community, there are reports of skirmishes in "Foreign Policy" as the policies of foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari are not in sync with the policies of country's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
A senior diplomat while speaking to a journalist said, "This is the reason the Ambassador is not making high-level engagements in Washington DC, because he has nothing to say," local media reports said.
Speaking on the Ambassador's situation, one Pakistani businessman in Houston said that Pakistan needs to send an envoy in Washington, who has the ability to take pressure in such situations.
Notably, the relations between US and Pakistan are at the lowest level for the past three years.
Pakistan needs to rejig its agenda list and make US among the top priorities. No one is trying to find the real reasons for the failure of Pakistan's agenda in the United States but like always "blame game" is the favorite topic.
Furthermore, when the envoy was approached by the local media, he was found to be unavailable to take media interviews.