ISLAMABAD: The government has in principle decided to appoint Abdul Basit as country’s new Foreign Secretary vice Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary who has been designated to become country’s envoy in the United States.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who is also retaining the portfolio of the Foreign Affairs has concluded consultations for appointing new administrative boss of the Foreign Office. It is likely that the announcement pertaining to the appointment of Abdul Basit would be made next week.
He is currently Pakistan’s High Commissioner in India and senior most among the contenders of the slot. He was selected for the job three years back but couldn’t be appointed due to technical reasons and instead posted as high commissioner in New Delhi. He was previously serving as ambassador to Germany.
Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations Geneva headquarters Ms. Tehmina Janjua, Pakistan’s former Chief of Protocol and Ambassador to France Ghalib Iqbal, country’s ambassador for Denmark Masroor Junejo and Pakistan’s High Commissioner for United Kingdom Syed Ibne Hasan were the other contenders for the post, the sources said.