Pakistan Ambassador to the United States

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H.E. Jalil Abbas Jilani is the current ambassador to the United States. A career diplomat, he assumed his office in December 2013. Previously he was serving as the Foreign Secretary.

The embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C. was built in 28 August 1947, when Pakistan attained independence from Great Britain and separated from India to form the Dominion of Pakistan. From the onset, Pakistan adopted a pro-American policy, with relations taking an upturn in 1954 when Pakistan signed the defense pacts with the United States, first the SEATO and then CENTO in 1955. The relations were soured because of subsequent Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971, but again blossomed due to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the ensuing covert war of 1980–88. The alleged nuclear program of the country led the US to impose sanctions on Pakistan and the relations deteriorated, but the War on Terrorism again placed Pakistan in the good books of America, and the relations improved.

Therefore, the Pakistani ambassadors to the US were not only the top-notch officers of Pakistan Civil Services, but also political appointees of respective governments of the time. Some of these ambassadors later rose to the posts of Foreign Minister of Pakistan and Finance Minister of Pakistan, while one of them, Muhammad Ali Bogra, became the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The last ambassador was Sherry Rehman (resigned May 2013), who took charge as the 21st ambassador to Pakistan on 23 November 2011, succeeding Husain Haqqani, who was removed from office following Pakistan's memogate scandal. Two ambassadors who were sent to the United States but recalled without their having presented their credentials were Akram Zaki and Tariq Fatemi, both foreign service men.[1]

List of ambassadors

No. Name of Ambassador[2] Entered Office Left Office
1 M.A.H. Ispahani 8 October 1948 8 February 1952
2 Muhammad Ali Bogra 27 February 1952 16 April 1953
3 Syed Amjad Ali 26 September 1953 17 September 1955
4 Muhammad Ali Bogra November 1955 March 1959
5 Aziz Ahmed 23 March 1959 July 1963
6 Ghulam Ahmed 19 July 1963 15 September 1966
7 Agha Hilaly 21 October 1966 20 October 1971
8 Maj Gen (R) N.A.M. Raza 22 October 1971 22 April 1972
9 Sultan Muhammad Khan 15 May 1972 8 December 1973
10 Lt Gen (R) Sahabzada Yaqub Khan 19 December 1973 3 January 1979
11 Sultan Muhammad Khan 13 January 1979 31 December 1980
12 Lt Gen Ejaz Azim 7 July 1981 15 September 1986
13 Jamsheed Marker 17 September 1986 30 June 1989
14 Air Chief Marshal (R) Zulfiqar Ali Khan 12 July 1989 15 September 1990
15 Najmuddin Shaikh 14 October 1990 22 November 1991
16 Syeda Abida Hussain 26 November 1991 24 April 1993
17 Maliha Lodhi 21 January 1994 30 January 1997
18 Riaz Khokhar 12 March 1997 7 September 1999
19 Tariq Fatemi 8 September 1999 16 December 1999
20 Maliha Lodhi 17 December 1999 4 August 2002
21 Ashraf Qazi 19 August 2002 6 August 2004
22 General (R) Jehangir Karamat 17 November 2004 3 June 2006
23 Maj Gen (R) Mahmud Ali Durrani 5 June 2006 9 May 2008
24 Husain Haqqani 26 May 2008 22 November 2011
25 Sherry Rehman 23 November 2011 14 May 2013 [3]
26 Jalil Abbas Jilani December 2013

References

  1. ↑ Khalid Hasan, "Ambassadors: a passing show" Daily Times, 1 June 2008
  2. ↑ Khalid Hasan. 'The Washington connection' The Friday Times, 30 March 2003
  3. ↑ "Pakistani ambassador to US resigns after election defeat". Xinhua News Agency. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.