Ali Jahangir Siddiqui to be appointed as envoy to US

• PTI criticises Siddiqui’s nomination, terms it an epitome of nepotism

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Thursday reportedly approved the appointment of Ali Jahangir Siddiqui, son of prominent businessman Jahangir Siddiqui, as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States.

Ali has been serving Abbasi as a special assistant, advising the prime minister on economic and business matters.

Siddiqui is chairman of JS Bank Ltd and son of stockbroker-turned-banker Jahangir Siddiqui. He has previously been a director in Airblue — which is also connected to the prime minister’s family — Lucky Cement, Azgard Nine, and numerous other companies. In 2014, he was honoured as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

He will replace Aizaz Chaudhry in Washington, a career diplomat who previously served as a foreign secretary before being appointed the ambassador to the US.

Chaudhry’s career as a foreign service officer spans 36 years of multilateral and bilateral experience. He served as foreign secretary of Pakistan from December 2013 to March 2017 and previously served as spokesperson of the foreign ministry.

In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chaudhry had served as additional foreign secretary of UN and disarmament affairs, and as director general of relations with South Asian countries.

Chaudhry’s other overseas assignments include Pakistan’s deputy permanent representative to the UN in New York and as ambassador to the Netherlands.

On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has strongly criticised Ali Jahangir Siddiqui’s nomination as ambassador to America, terming the move as an epitome of cynicism and nepotism.

According to the details issued by party’s central media department, PTI spokesperson has made trenchant criticism of the incumbent government stating that Ali Siddiqui’s nomination is reprehensible and worst example of nepotism.

Before him, the spokesperson said, an absconder and money launderer had been made a member of the upper house. “Apart from being a business partner of the incumbent prime minister and a relative of Mir Shakeel, what are the credentials of Ali Jahangir Siddiqui?” asked PTI spokesperson.

Pak-US relations are undergoing serious challenges with each passing day, he said, asserting that nomination of an experienced and competent representative was imperative to keep the relations between the two countries on the right track.

“Such type of nomination at a very sensitive slot is nothing but a joke with this nation,” he lamented. “PML-N’s model is erected on the principals of nepotism and the self-styled champions of democracy are running matters through Iqama holders like Khawaja Asif and Ahsan Iqbal,” he added.