ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s 19 ambassadors will be losing their jobs next month with the exit of the incumbent government since they are non-career and contractual employees of the government.
Ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman, high commissioners to the United Kingdom and India Shamsul Hasan and Salman Bashir, Permanent representative for the United Nations Masood Khan, Ambassadors to the UAE and Oman Jamil Ahmad Khan and Aminullah Raisani, and four retired generals and one retired air marshal are among the envoys who will deemed to be resigned on March 16 when the present government and National Assembly will cease to exist.
Diplomatic sources here say that the ambassadors and high commissioners who are engaged on political basis are under obligation of condition that they accepted for the appointment that they will quit their posts with the change of government.
Pakistan has 90 ambassadors across the world and 20 per cent is fixed quota for the appointees, including five from the armed forces. They all are supposed to give up their assignment, the sources said.
The sources reminded that the Foreign Office will put up a summary to the new prime minister pertaining to details about the non-career/contractual ambassadors/high commissioners so that he could take action on the fate of their service.
The major opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League-N of Nawaz Sharif, has made a demand for the immediate removal of non-career ambassadors picked by the present government for their loyalty with the presidency before the assumption of the office by the new prime minister.
The PML-N has referred to high commissioner in the United Kingdom and ambassadors to the UAE and the United States.
It is understood that the envoys so hit by the controversy would be shown the doors while the ambassadors/high commissioners having the background of their service, including the Foreign Service, would be considered for retention, the sources said.
Internews
