Ambassador Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi formally took charge as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan upon the retirement of Asad Majeed Khan, the Foreign Office announced on Wednesday.
Former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif had approved the appointment of Qazi as the new foreign secretary just days before completing the government’s term. The official announcement, however, was made on Wednesday.
"Ambassador Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi has been appointed as the 32nd Foreign Secretary of Pakistan. He replaces Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan who retires from government service upon attaining superannuation," Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch tweeted.
Qazi, a Grade-22 officer of the Foreign Service, was serving as a special secretary and has now replaced Khan, who retired after reaching the age of superannuation.
The government approved the appointment of Khan’s successor days before his retirement date as it did not leave such an important post to be filled by the caretaker set-up.
Qazi was the front-runner and had been waiting for the top slot since Khan was appointed as the foreign secretary in December last year. Khan served as the foreign secretary for eight months.
Khan was the Pakistani ambassador in Washington, who sent the cypher in March 2022 after meeting a senior US official. The cypher was used by then prime minister Imran Khan as an evidence of foreign conspiracy against his government.
