ISLAMABAD: Secretary of Foreign Affairs Dr Asad Majeed Khan, who got fame from a diplomatic cipher in March 2022 during former prime minister Imran Khan’s tenure, will retire today (Thursday).

Dr Asad will be replaced by Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi as the new foreign secretary, who is going to assume charge of his office today (Thursday).

Dr Asad was Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington, who sent the diplomatic cipher in March 2022 after meeting Donald Lu, the United States diplomat serving as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.

The cipher was used by the then prime minister Imran Khan as evidence for his narrative of the alleged “foreign conspiracy” amid his ouster from the office through a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly in April last year.

On Wednesday, the outgoing Foreign Secretary Dr Asad paid a farewell call on President Dr Arif Alvi here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The president congratulated Dr Asad on the successful completion of his term as the 31st foreign secretary.

Dr Alvi also appreciated the services of the outgoing foreign secretary for promoting Pakistan’s stance on different matters.

He also lauded Dr Asad’s professional competence and initiatives on the diplomatic fronts and expressed good wishes for his post-retirement life.

Qazi will take over as foreign secretary upon the retirement of Dr Asad on Thursday (today) following his appointment to the office by former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier this month.

As the senior-most officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at present, Qazi served a special secretary of foreign affairs prior to his appointment as the new foreign secretary and has a vast experience in both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. He also served as Pakistan’s ambassador to Hungary and Turkey.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023