*ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued notices to thesecretary cabinet division, the foreign secretary, and the prime minister’sprincipal secretary to submit comments on a petition challenging AliJahangir Siddiqui’s appointment as Pakistan’s ambassador to the UnitedStates (US). *

A bench of the high court also put the Attorney General on notice to ensurethe filing of comments by the official respondents until the next hearing.The hearing was put off for two weeks.

The petitioner argued that the process of the appointment of Siddiqui, thepremier’s special assistant, to such an important post lacked merit.

The federal authorities ignored experienced diplomats and made theappointment on the basis of favoritism, he alleged while pleading that thecourt should strike down Siddiqui’s appointment as US ambassador.

An identical petition is also pending in the Lahore High Court wherethe petitioner has adopted a stance that the appointment has been madewithout consulting the federal cabinet.

The petition contended that the appointee doesn’t have the prerequisiteexperience to serve as an ambassador to the US, hence the court shouldimmediately declare Siddiqui’s appointment as null and void.