Style His Excellency Formation 1948 | Residence Washington, D.C. | |
Nominator Prime Minister of Pakistan Website Pakistan Embassy – Washington, D.C. | ||
Pakistan Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the Pakistan Embassy, Washington, D.C., Pakistan's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United States of America.
H.E. Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry is the current ambassador to the United States. A career diplomat, he will assume the office on March, 2017. Previously he was serving as the Foreign Secretary.
History
The embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C. was built on 28 August 1947, when Pakistan attained independence from Great Britain and separated from India to form the Dominion of Pakistan. From the onset, Pakistan adopted a pro-American policy, with relations taking an upturn in 1954 when Pakistan signed the defense pacts with the United States, first the SEATO and then CENTO in 1955. The relations were soured because of subsequent Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971, but again blossomed due to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the ensuing covert war of 1980–88. The alleged nuclear program of the country led the US to impose sanctions on Pakistan and the relations deteriorated, but the War on Terrorism again placed Pakistan in the good books of America, and the relations improved.
Therefore, the Pakistani ambassadors to the US were not only the top-notch officers of Pakistan Civil Services, but also political appointees of respective governments of the time. Some of these ambassadors later rose to the posts of Foreign Minister of Pakistan and Finance Minister of Pakistan, while one of them, Muhammad Ali Bogra, became the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
The last ambassador was Jalil Abbas Jilani (completed term in February 2017), who took charge as the 22nd ambassador to Pakistan in December 2013, succeeding Sherry Rehman, who resigned on May 14th, 2013.