Pakistan's Qazi appointed UNSG's Special Envoy to Iraq
Pakistan Times Foreign Desk Report

UNITED NATIONS: Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, a career diplomat and Pakistan Ambassador to United States, was Monday appointed United Nations Secretary General's Special Representative for Iraq.

The formal announcement came from associate spokesperson of the United Nations, Ms Marie Okabe at the United Nations Press briefing room.

Special envoy to do his utmost to justify trust reposed in him. He is to visit Pakistan soon.

Replaces Lakhdar Brahimi

The new Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Iraq, will replace Lakhdar Brahimi.

The Special Representatives and Envoys of the Secretary-General engage in preventive diplomacy and mediation in the world's trouble spots. Individuals who possess widely recognized talents are nominated for the task.

Sketch

Ashraf Jehangir Qazi became ambassador of Pakistan to the United States on Sept. 25, 2002. He previously served as high commissioner of Pakistan to India (1997-2002), ambassador to the People's Republic of China (1994-1997), ambassador to Russia (1991-1994), ambassador to East Germany (1990-1991) and ambassador to Syria (1986-1988).

Qazi has also held various diplomatic assignments in Copenhagen, Tokyo, Cairo, Tripoli and London. Ambassador Qazi holds a master's degree in economics and is married with two daughters.

Pledges to Justify Trust

The Special Representative of the United Nations for Iraq, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi Monday said that he would do his "utmost to justify the trust" that Secretary General Kofi Annan has reposed in him.

"This is a challenging and exciting assignment," Ambassador Qazi, the senior most career diplomat told Khalilur Rehman Bhugio, Special Correspondent in Washington of Pakistan's state-run news agency.

Asked to comment on the formal announcement made at a special U.N. Press briefing at the United Nations, he said: "This is a great honour for me as well as for my country."

"I shall soon be travelling to Pakistan to consult President General Pervez Musharraf, and meet government officials," he stated.

Instantly after the announcement about his appointment as Special envoy of the UNSG, Ambassador Qazi, who was in the Pakistan Embassy, started receiving messages of felicitations from officials, colleagues, acquaintances and well wishers from far and wide.

PT could not establish Contact

Despite best efforts, 'Pakistan Times' could not establish a direct contact with Mr. Qazi as Mr. Shamim told the independent daily e-newspaper on the Web by phone late on Monday night that; 'he [Qazi] has gone to the State Department for a meeting.' 'He will be back after 45 minutes', the man who attended the call from Editor 'Pakistan Times', with a lot of queries and depicting atypical reluctance remarked vis-à-vis the objective of the phone call which was aimed at speaking to Qazi.

'If you want his [Qazi's] reaction or views on his new assignment, you should better contact news networks [of the East and West] was the remarks of Shamim for a globally-acknowledged daily 'Pakistan Times', which originates from the envoy's own home Pakistan.

Though the telephone number was, perhaps, got listed by Mr. Shamim, yet no feedback came from Washington till the publication of this edition of 'Pakistan Times' before dawn today, Tuesday despite the fact that Shamim vowed 'to get that contact established, the moment the Envoy returns.'

Earlier, Envoy Qazi have had meetings with related members of the UN staff at the world body's headquarters in New York. He will have an in-depth meeting with Secretary General Koffi Annan in a day or two as Annan is on a foreign visit now-a-days.

Pakistan Welcomes

Pakistan on Monday welcomed the appointment of its ambassador to the United States, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, as Special Representative of the UN Secretary General.

"It is a tribute to Ambassador's Qazi's proven competence and professionalism," Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan said.

Khan said: "As the Ambassador takes this important and sensitive assignment, we wish him well. It is a matter of pride for Pakistan's Foreign Service."

This assignment, he said, requires leadership which ambassador Qazi has demonstrated in his long and successful diplomatic career.

US Reax

The United States Monday welcomed the appointment of Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi to the post of UNSG's Special Representative on Iraq.

"We welcome it. We look forward to working with him at the United Nations, as we have worked with him in Washington as Pakistan's Ambassador."

The State Department Spokesman commented on the appointment of Ambassador Qazi for the important U.N. assignment.

In response to a question at the daily Press briefing, Richard Boucher said: "It's certainly, we think, an important development for the United Nations to have the special envoy of the Secretary General working on Iraq."

Pledges Support

He said, the United States would do "everything possible to support his effort," to work with him and the Iraqi government and also "to take care of things like assisting them with security and other areas like that where the multinational forces might be of assistance."

Formal Announcement

The formal announcement made today at the United Nations, says that UNSG has appointed Ambassador Qazi as his Special envoy for Iraq. Mr. Qazi has been Pakistan's ambassador to the United States since 2002, and is acknowledged being a veteran Pakistani career diplomat.

Asked where would the new U.N. Special Envoy be based for the time being, Boucher said that while he did not about it, "I imagine he'll be back and forth a bit."

Boucher said, the United States looked forward to working with him as the special representative of the Secretary General.

To a question as to which countries could contribute troops to protect U.N. mission in Iraq, the State Department Spokesman said that he would not try to characterize it at this moment.

"We are having discussions with other governments, including governments in South Asia, about how they might contribute to security in Iraq. There is this possibility some governments might want to step forward and participate in forces to protect the United Nations operations there."

He referred to the interview by Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage, who already mentioned last week that that was one of the issues that he would be taking up during the course of his trip to South Asia.

The Spokesman, however, said "at this point," he did not have "anything new on that."●