*WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s envoy to the United States (US) Ali JahangirSiddiqui met US secretary of defense James N. Mattis at Pentagon,headquarters of the United States Department of Defense.*
Jahangir received a warm welcome from James Mattis at Pentagon where theduo discussed Pakistan-US relations and pondered over the matterspertaining to the region.
According to sources, Mattis apprised Siddiqui about the US strategy inAfghanistan and the options of bringing Afghan Taliban to the table fornegotiations.
Last month, new ambassador to the US Ali Jahangir Siddiqui attended hisfirst public event in Washington that was arranged by a Republican leaderSajid Tarrar to welcome the new Pakistani envoy to the US.
Speaking to the attendees of the event, he asserted that he is determinedto strengthen the ties between US and Pakistan. “Resolution of issues ofPakistani community is our priority because this very community will assistin bringing betterment to the Pak-US relations,” he added.
Siddiqui urged everyone to take part in Pakistan’s revival and reemergenceand assured “we are well on our way towards it”.
“You can support us in many ways,” the ambassador said. “But more importantthan that is to participate in your political discourse and process.”
“If you can do that, then you can carry the Pakistan story and naturallyoffer a perspective that is your own, presenting Pakistan in a fair way,”he added.
On May 8, Siddiqui was appointed as the ambassador to the US after AizazAhmed Chaudhry, his predecessor, retired from the post. The new envoyreached Washington, DC on May 29.
Siddiqui, who holds a BA in Economics from Cornell University, US, is theson of the famous banker and businessman Jahangir Siddiqui. He has servedas director of Airblue airlines, Lucky Cement, Azgard Nine along withseveral other companies. In 2014, he was honoured as a Young Global Leaderby the World Economic Forum.