The Government of Pakistan has appointed Ambassador (R) Mohammad Sadiq as its first-ever Special Representative for Afghanistan.
According to the Office of the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador (R) Sadiq, an officer of the Foreign Service of Pakistan, has wide-ranging experience in diplomacy, including extensive expertise on Afghanistan, where he served as Pakistan’s Ambassador from 2008-2014.
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He is appointed as Pakistan’s first special envoy for Afghanistan.
During his diplomatic career, he served in a number of key capitals including Brussels, Beijing and Washington.
He served as the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2007-2008. Ambassador Sadiq also served as Secretary, National Security Division (NSD) from March 2014 to October 2016.
Besides the peace process, Sadiq faces a big challenge of how to normalize relations with Afghanistan as tense ties have badly affected bilateral engagements.
The intra-Afghan negotiations should be completely an Afghan affair, but being as one of the major stakeholders, Sadiq will now lead Pakistan’s peace efforts especially its role as a facilitator. The US and other key players recognize Pakistan’s role.
The appointment of Sadiq has been made just days before the visit of US point person for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, who is travelling to Kabul, Doha and Islamabad to advance peace efforts.
