ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ambassador to Italy, Johar Saleem, has been appointed acting foreign secretary, The News reported on Saturday as the foreign office could not finalize and agree on a name for the permanent post.
Former foreign secretary Sohail Mehmood nominated Salim in his last official act while in office – whose term as a diplomat ends in April next year.
The rules allow for an acting foreign secretary, and this helps avoid administrative gaps and the day-to-day running of the ministry.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for External Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar confirmed to the publication that Salim has been transferred to the post of Acting Foreign Secretary.
Earlier, the highest authority summoned Ambassador Dr. Asad Majeed from Brussels and he arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday hoping to be nominated as the new Foreign Secretary.
In an interview in Washington this week, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also praised Ambassador Majeed and said that he should not suffer because of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
Confusion and indecision in the Foreign Office over the name of the new foreign secretary began after the latest leaked audio in which the former prime minister allegedly spoke about a diplomatic cipher sent by Majeed when he was ambassador to the US. were
“Yes, that was one reason. It was feared in the Foreign Office that if the government ordered an inquiry into the Cipher incident, Ambassador Asad Majeed would not be able to focus fully on his responsibilities but rather attend the inquiry meetings. I will pass the time,” an official source told News
The optics of the new Secretary of State’s attendance at these meetings will also not be very helpful.
It seems that the Foreign Office has shown wisdom and made the right decision in appointing the Acting Foreign Secretary on Friday.
The cabinet ordered the formation of a special committee to investigate the latest audio leaks, including the cipher sent by Ambassador Majeed.
This is the second time that the Prime Minister has called for an ambassador from Brussels to take over as Foreign Secretary, but something has stopped him.
Earlier, there was another ambassador in Brussels, Abdul Basit, who was called to Islamabad by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to inform him that he was the next foreign secretary.
However, the grouping within the Foreign Office succeeded, and Abdul Basit was told that there was no room for promotion to Grade 22, so he could not be promoted to Foreign Secretary.
The News understands that the FO may allow the Promotion Board to meet to nominate diplomats in Grade 22 and elect a Foreign Secretary.
Sources are not ruling out the name of the ambassador in Ankara, Muhammad Cyrus Sajjad Qazi, to join the race for foreign secretary once again. At one time, he was a hot favorite.
Currently, the announcement of the Foreign Secretary’s name by the Foreign Office may be pushed to next week.
