Khan chosen envoy, but 'it's not official'

The appointment of Riaz Mohammed Khan, the ambassador to China, as Pakistan's high commissioner in New Delhi has been hit by controversy within a day of the announcement, with senior officials in the Foreign Office yesterday denying they knew of the appointment.

Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali named the former Foreign Office spokesperson as Pakistan's envoy to the key post in an interview to Indian television channel Doordarshan on Saturday.

The report was reinforced when Rai Riaz, press secretary to the prime minister confirmed the appointment to The Associated Press in Islamabad.

Jamali's ineptness in dealing with diplomatic niceties had led to the leak, a source pointed out. "Khan has been chosen as the envoy to India, but this is not official," the source said.

The Foreign Office yesterday issued a clarification saying the prime minister had not yet taken a final decision.

The official clarification issued by the spoke-sman, however, did not deny Khan's appointment to the post but only "clarified" that no decision has been made in this regard, it was being said. The statement said "the Government of Pakistan has clarified that it has not yet decided who will be the country's new Ambassador to India".

Pakistani foreign ministry officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted they had not yet been told of Khan's appointment, refusing to acknowledge the announcement on Pakistan's state run Pakistan Television.

Sources said, however, that the clarification was issued for procedural reasons as such appointments are officially announced only after the concerned government is notified of the appointment in a formal agreement, and the consent of the concerned government has been received. "Neither of these developments has taken place, no agreement has been sent," an official said.

The Foreign Office statement, issued through the official APP news agency, notes that Jamali had been wrongly quoted in the news report, which named Khan as ambassador-designate to India.

Khan, meanwhile, told Pakistan media in the Chinese capital Beijing that he has not yet been officially informed about his new assignment. He said he has been approached by various journalists but refused to comment until he assumed charge. Sources said that the Doordarshan interview had been leaked to Pakistan Television, with the former only scheduled to air the interview today, on the day that Pakistan was to officially send a notification to New Delhi.

India officially announced the appointment of Shiv Shankar Menon as its new High Commissioner to Pakistan only after Islamabad approved Delhi's notification.

Meanwhile, the local media is reportedly upset that Jamali made the much-awaited announcement through the Indian media rather than a Pakistani organisation. While reporting Khan's appointment, the Urdu daily Jang criticised Jamali for making important announcements through foreign dignitaries and foreign media.

Jamali deviated from protocol both when he wrote to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and while announcing the name of the new high commissioner, the paper said.

It was in a telephone call to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and to Doordarshan that important policy decisions were announced, bypassing the home audience, the daily said in its report.