PM Abbasi okays Ali J. Siddiqui's appointment as US ambassador

The federal government has decided to appoint Ali Jahangir Siddiqui, son of prominent businessman Jahangir Siddiqui, as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, DawnNewsTV reported on Thursday.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi approved the appointment, sources said. Ali had been serving Abbasi as a special assistant, advising the prime minister on economic and business matters.

Siddiqui is chairman of JS Bank Ltd and son of stockbroker-turned-banker Jahangir Siddiqui.

He has previously been a director in Airblue — which is also connected to the prime minister's family — Lucky Cement, Azgard Nine, and numerous other companies.

He will replace Aizaz Chaudhry in Washington, a career diplomat who previously served as foreign secretary before being appointed the ambassador to the US.

Chaudhry's career as a foreign service officer spans 36 years of multilateral and bilateral experience. He served as foreign secretary of Pakistan from December 2013 to March 2017, and previously served as spokesperson of the foreign ministry.

In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chaudhry had served as additional foreign secretary of UN and disarmament affairs, and as director general of relations with South Asian countries.

Chaudhry's other overseas assignments include Pakistan's deputy permanent representative to the UN in New York and as ambassador to the Netherlands.