Pakistan Ambassador to Untied States Ali Jahnagir Siddiqui, who is yet to present his credentials to President Donald Trump, was not invited to an Iftar dinner hosted by the US President on Wednesday. Pakistan, being the second largest Muslim country following Indonesia in terms of population, was not represented in President Trump's first Iftar dinner hosted for the Muslims.
Sources in Pakistan Embassy in Washington told Business Recorder that there was no official invitation to the ambassador. They said though Ambassador Siddiqui has recently assumed the office, he will be presenting his credentials to President Trump in a couple weeks. Ambassadors of the Muslim countries who were formally invited to the Iftar were from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Tunisia, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Morocco, Algeria and Libya.
When asked, Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said that he has no information in this regard. On May 11, the Trump administration imposed travel restrictions on Pakistani diplomats of its embassy in Washington and consulates in other cities, asking them to seek prior permission of the State Department before travelling beyond 40 kilometers radius of their place of postings.
The US officials insisted that the restrictions were on reciprocal basis as their diplomats have to go through certain restrictions in Pakistan while travelling in the cities of their postings. It was followed by some additional measures taken by Pakistan that included withdrawal of certain facilities available to the US diplomats in the country.