ISLAMABAD: Malicious propaganda by Indian media targeting Ambassador Masood Khan suffered a major dent as Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Tuesday exposed Indian lies and also shared details of the career of Masood Khan as a decorated and seasoned diplomat.
Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar also rubbished the malicious propaganda by Indian media regarding a delay in the appointment of Sardar Masood Khan as the country’s envoy to the US, saying the “agrément [of Masood] is being processed in the US system”.
Referring to Indian media claims, the spokesperson said that India’s malicious propaganda “is a part of the wider Indian disinformation campaign to malign Pakistan and those who represent Pakistan, by using fake news to make scandalous claims and baseless allegations”.
Speaking about Masood, who also served as the former president of Azad Jammu Kashmir, Iftikhar noted that Ambassador Masood Khan “is a highly accomplished diplomat with 40 years of experience in both multilateral and bilateral diplomacy”.
After his retirement, Masood became the AJK president and has been advancing Pakistan’s case for the longstanding Kashmir dispute with India. Masood has vast experience in multilateral diplomacy and has been a frequent negotiator for Pakistan.
Masood Khan has served in various diplomatic positions at the Pakistan missions in Beijing, The Hague, and Washington DC.
Masood during his service served as the ambassador to China as well as a permanent representative to the United Nations. He also remained a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
His appointment to Washington comes at a time when relations between Pakistan and the US are facing an uncertain future. Since the US exit from Afghanistan, there is no clarity about the kind of relationship the US wants to maintain with Pakistan.
Although Pakistan has been seeking broad-based ties with the US covering all aspects, the US has so far given little indication if it is ready to enhance the scope of ties beyond security and Afghanistan.
There has been some movement on the ties in recent months after the Biden administration named a full-time ambassador to Pakistan. The US has not had a full-time ambassador since August 2018.
Immediately before becoming the President, Masood was the Director General of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, one of the top think-tanks in Pakistan.
Sardar Masood Khan Khan had an extensive and distinguished diplomatic career. Most notably, he served as Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2005; Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2005 to 2008; Pakistan’s Ambassador to China from 2008 to 2012; and Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Headquarters, New York, from 2012 to 2015.
In his earlier diplomatic career, Masood held important diplomatic positions in China, The Netherlands, United Nations (New York) and the USA (Washington D.C).
Over the years, he has also held leadership positions in the international community which include: President of the Conference on Disarmament; President of the Biological Weapons Review Conference 2006; President of the Governmental Group of the International Labour Organization (ILO); Chairman of the ILO Reform Committee; Chairman of the Council of the International Organization for Migration; Chairman of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Geneva; Chairman of the Group of 77 and China.
In New York, Sardar Masood Khan represented Pakistan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2012 to 2013 and became the President of the Security Council in January 2013.
While in New York, he was also the Vice President of the Economic and Social Council; Vice President of the UN General Assembly and President of the Executive Board of UNICEF.
Masood Khan also remained Pakistan’s Chief Negotiator at the Nuclear Security Summit from 2009 to 2015.
In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Masood served as Director General United Nations, Director General Nuclear Disarmament, Director General Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Director General East Asia and Pacific. Earlier, he was Director Secretary General’s Office and Director International Conferences.
His areas of specialization include nuclear diplomacy, South Asia, Pak-China relations, Pak-US relations, e-governance, multilateral diplomacy and international humanitarian law, among others.
Masood Khan has spoken at prestigious universities and think tanks in the US, the UK, Europe, the Gulf, China and South East Asia.
Masood Khan has led scores of Pakistani delegations to international conferences. Before joining the foreign service, he was a Pakistan Television host and a radio newscaster.
