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Tug-of-war rocks foreign ministry
| Outgoing foreign secretary stops postings | Bengali officer cries for rights
March 04, 2017
ISLAMABAD - The tug-of-war between the eligible and the “blue-eyed” officials to grab prized jobs before outgoing Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry vacates his office, has rocked the foreign ministry, The Nation has learnt.
Chaudhry, who will fly soon to Washington to take over as Pakistan’s ambassador, had issued some posting orders, which were widely criticised among the officers who saw them as “favouritism”.
Sources, privy to the developments, told The Nation on Friday, Chaudhry had stopped posting orders amid pressure.
“The [outgoing] foreign secretary is convinced that Tehmina Janjua [his replacement] should make the key decisions when she assumes the top job. There will still be some appointments [that will be] okayed by [Aizaz Ahmed] Chaudhry,” said a senior official at the Foreign Ministry.
He said that the appointment of Salman Sharif as first secretary at Pakistan’s embassy in Washington was a prelude for a newly-created job and his position might be given a new name.
Sources said that Director Foreign Secretary’s Office Salman Sharif was “gifted” another chance at Pakistan’s embassy in Washington by Chaudhry as he was close to his boss.
Sharif had previously served a term in Washington and his appointment violated Chaudhry’s own “no A-to-A-station posting” rule.
Sources say that there will also be an issue with the posting of ambassador in Geneva after Tehmina Janjua takes over as the foreign secretary.
The new appointment to replace Moazzam Ahmad Khan at The Hague was also pending.
The posting and transfers of Deputy Director Fareena Arshad, Asif Memon, Usman Iqbal Jadoon and Haseeb Bin Aziz too have been a discussion point.
Sources said that the posting of Deputy Chief of Protocol Naeem Iqbal Cheema to New York Consulate was already being challenged by the eligible officers.
They said Chaudhry was hoping to take Usman Iqbal Jadoon, Haseeb Bin Aziz and Salman Sharif to the US.
The sources said that officers close to Chaudhry were still pressurising him to grant them some better postings before flying to Washington.
Chaudhry had run the Foreign Office in the last few years strictly by his "likes and dislikes," some officials said on condition of anonymity.
The choice of ambassador to Afghanistan after many years was a person who does not speak Pashto.
Two officers Omar Siddique and Zulqurnain Cheema, who were members of staff of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi's office, have been given 'A' category postings to Ankara and Pakistan's mission to the UN in New York.
Hamid Asghar Khan, an officer of “tainted reputation”, who is the son-in-law of columnist Ayaz Amir, has interestingly done all 'A' category postings --- London (twice), and Germany, and intensely-lobbied for last assignment as Pakistan's consular general in Los Angeles.
Sources say he is again lobbying to get a prized posting.
Afrasiab Mehdi Qureshi, who is a considered to be a brilliant diplomat and an expert on China and India, was sidelined to a posting in New Zealand because he was “not in the good books” of Chaudhry, sources said.
Pakistan ambassador to Brazil Burhanul Islam has his own case as he claims to have been refused promotion to grade-21 for being a Bengali.
The disgruntled diplomat wrote a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif claiming he was victimised on alleged racial grounds.
In his letter, Burhanul Islam said he was a “Bengali” not a “Bihari” who was being denied his rights.
The senior diplomat then goes on to say that the 90-year-old Jamaat-e-Islami man executed by Bangladesh was his first cousin and that his family is paying sacrifice till today for Pakistan.
Sources, however, said Burhanul Islam did not have an exemplary record especially during his tenure in Frankfurt.
The foreign ministry was also abuzz with rumours of Special Assistanistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi’s sacking but those reports were never confirmed.
Working relations between Adviser to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Fatemi have always been in question.
Last month, PM Sharif had formally appointed Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry as new ambassador to the United States. Tehmina Janjua will replace him in Islamabad as the foreign secretary.
Sources said that the High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Syed Ibne Abbas, Ambassador in China Masood Khalid and former ambassador to France Ghalib Iqbal – who had been considered for the foreign secretary’s post were also looking for new assignments.
“They should get new jobs under Tehmina Janjua. The reshuffle [starting from foreign secretary] has definitely created a storm, which will take some time to settle,” said a source.
There were unconfirmed reports that Abdul Basit might quit after being refused the top job at the foreign ministry.
For months, PM Sharif has been under pressure to appoint a full-time foreign minister to deal with the diplomatic challenges in place of Sartaj Aziz and Tariq Fatemi who are looking after the foreign ministry’s day-to-day affairs.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry said on Friday that Amjad Hussain B Sial assumed charge as the 13th Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) from March 1, 2017.
This is the second time that a secretary general from Pakistan would be leading the Saarc.
“Pakistan attaches great importance to regional cooperation under the umbrella of the Saarc for promoting the welfare of the people of South Asia, improving their quality of life, accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development,” said a statement issued by the foreign ministry.
The appointment of Sial, an experienced career diplomat, is expected to help revive and strengthen the Saarc process, bringing all the member states together and ensuring timely and effective implementation of programmes and activities that would benefit the region, it said.
Prior to this appointment, Sial served as the special foreign secretary of Pakistan.
He succeeds Arjun Bahadur Thapa of Nepal.
The secretaries-general of SAARC are appointed from member states on the basis of the principle of rotation in alphabetical order for a period of three years.
http://nation.com.pk/national/04-Mar-2017/tug-of-war-rocks-foreign-ministry
| Outgoing foreign secretary stops postings | Bengali officer cries for rights
March 04, 2017
ISLAMABAD - The tug-of-war between the eligible and the “blue-eyed” officials to grab prized jobs before outgoing Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry vacates his office, has rocked the foreign ministry, The Nation has learnt.
Chaudhry, who will fly soon to Washington to take over as Pakistan’s ambassador, had issued some posting orders, which were widely criticised among the officers who saw them as “favouritism”.
Sources, privy to the developments, told The Nation on Friday, Chaudhry had stopped posting orders amid pressure.
“The [outgoing] foreign secretary is convinced that Tehmina Janjua [his replacement] should make the key decisions when she assumes the top job. There will still be some appointments [that will be] okayed by [Aizaz Ahmed] Chaudhry,” said a senior official at the Foreign Ministry.
He said that the appointment of Salman Sharif as first secretary at Pakistan’s embassy in Washington was a prelude for a newly-created job and his position might be given a new name.
Sources said that Director Foreign Secretary’s Office Salman Sharif was “gifted” another chance at Pakistan’s embassy in Washington by Chaudhry as he was close to his boss.
Sharif had previously served a term in Washington and his appointment violated Chaudhry’s own “no A-to-A-station posting” rule.
Sources say that there will also be an issue with the posting of ambassador in Geneva after Tehmina Janjua takes over as the foreign secretary.
The new appointment to replace Moazzam Ahmad Khan at The Hague was also pending.
The posting and transfers of Deputy Director Fareena Arshad, Asif Memon, Usman Iqbal Jadoon and Haseeb Bin Aziz too have been a discussion point.
Sources said that the posting of Deputy Chief of Protocol Naeem Iqbal Cheema to New York Consulate was already being challenged by the eligible officers.
They said Chaudhry was hoping to take Usman Iqbal Jadoon, Haseeb Bin Aziz and Salman Sharif to the US.
The sources said that officers close to Chaudhry were still pressurising him to grant them some better postings before flying to Washington.
Chaudhry had run the Foreign Office in the last few years strictly by his "likes and dislikes," some officials said on condition of anonymity.
The choice of ambassador to Afghanistan after many years was a person who does not speak Pashto.
Two officers Omar Siddique and Zulqurnain Cheema, who were members of staff of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi's office, have been given 'A' category postings to Ankara and Pakistan's mission to the UN in New York.
Hamid Asghar Khan, an officer of “tainted reputation”, who is the son-in-law of columnist Ayaz Amir, has interestingly done all 'A' category postings --- London (twice), and Germany, and intensely-lobbied for last assignment as Pakistan's consular general in Los Angeles.
Sources say he is again lobbying to get a prized posting.
Afrasiab Mehdi Qureshi, who is a considered to be a brilliant diplomat and an expert on China and India, was sidelined to a posting in New Zealand because he was “not in the good books” of Chaudhry, sources said.
Pakistan ambassador to Brazil Burhanul Islam has his own case as he claims to have been refused promotion to grade-21 for being a Bengali.
The disgruntled diplomat wrote a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif claiming he was victimised on alleged racial grounds.
In his letter, Burhanul Islam said he was a “Bengali” not a “Bihari” who was being denied his rights.
The senior diplomat then goes on to say that the 90-year-old Jamaat-e-Islami man executed by Bangladesh was his first cousin and that his family is paying sacrifice till today for Pakistan.
Sources, however, said Burhanul Islam did not have an exemplary record especially during his tenure in Frankfurt.
The foreign ministry was also abuzz with rumours of Special Assistanistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi’s sacking but those reports were never confirmed.
Working relations between Adviser to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Fatemi have always been in question.
Last month, PM Sharif had formally appointed Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry as new ambassador to the United States. Tehmina Janjua will replace him in Islamabad as the foreign secretary.
Sources said that the High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Syed Ibne Abbas, Ambassador in China Masood Khalid and former ambassador to France Ghalib Iqbal – who had been considered for the foreign secretary’s post were also looking for new assignments.
“They should get new jobs under Tehmina Janjua. The reshuffle [starting from foreign secretary] has definitely created a storm, which will take some time to settle,” said a source.
There were unconfirmed reports that Abdul Basit might quit after being refused the top job at the foreign ministry.
For months, PM Sharif has been under pressure to appoint a full-time foreign minister to deal with the diplomatic challenges in place of Sartaj Aziz and Tariq Fatemi who are looking after the foreign ministry’s day-to-day affairs.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry said on Friday that Amjad Hussain B Sial assumed charge as the 13th Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) from March 1, 2017.
This is the second time that a secretary general from Pakistan would be leading the Saarc.
“Pakistan attaches great importance to regional cooperation under the umbrella of the Saarc for promoting the welfare of the people of South Asia, improving their quality of life, accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development,” said a statement issued by the foreign ministry.
The appointment of Sial, an experienced career diplomat, is expected to help revive and strengthen the Saarc process, bringing all the member states together and ensuring timely and effective implementation of programmes and activities that would benefit the region, it said.
Prior to this appointment, Sial served as the special foreign secretary of Pakistan.
He succeeds Arjun Bahadur Thapa of Nepal.
The secretaries-general of SAARC are appointed from member states on the basis of the principle of rotation in alphabetical order for a period of three years.
http://nation.com.pk/national/04-Mar-2017/tug-of-war-rocks-foreign-ministry
