ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has appointed its special envoy for Afghanistan, confirmed the foreign office on Saturday.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi discussed policy guidelines on Afghan peace process with Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, the country’s newly appointed special envoy, in Islamabad on Saturday.
“The Foreign Minister congratulated Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq on his appointment as special envoy for Afghanistan and gave special instructions and hoped that the appointment of an experienced diplomat like him to this important post would help further strengthen Pak-Afghan relations,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement after the meeting on Saturday.
Ambassador Sadiq is an experienced diplomat who retired from foreign services in October 2016. He remained Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan from 2008 – 2014.
He had also served as Secretary to the National Security Division, Cabinet Committee on National Security, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, remained at key diplomatic posts in Beijing, Brussels and was deputy head of mission in Washington in 1998-2000.
During the meeting, Qureshi said that lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan is essential for the development of the entire region.
“Pakistan, in fulfilling its shared responsibility, has sincerely played a conciliatory role in the Afghan peace process, which is being appreciated around the world today.
Pakistan will continue to play its full role for peace and stability in the region,” Qureshi affirmed to Sadiq.
“I have just been assigned this responsibility and busy in meetings to streamline things. I will share details very soon,” Sadiq told Arab News.
Afghan affairs expert, Rahim Ullah Yousafzai, termed it an important development citing Sadiq's in-depth knowledge of the ground realities in Afghanistan.
“This appointment will be very beneficial for Pakistan. He (Sadiq) has good personal relations with important stakeholders in Afghanistan as he remained ambassador there for six years. He also understands our security issues as he remained secretary of National Security Division,” Yousafzai told Arab News, adding that he will face new challenges as many faces in the current Afghan government are new, who were not present during his tenure in Afghanistan.
