Mohammad Sadiq resigns as Pakistan’s special envoy to Afghanistan

Published March 1, 2023
In this file photo, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq speaking at National University of Sciences and Technology on Dec 2. — Twitter/@AmbassadorSadiq
In this file photo, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq speaking at National University of Sciences and Technology on Dec 2. — Twitter/@AmbassadorSadiq

Veteran diplomat Mohammad Sadiq resigned as Pakistan’s special representative to Afghanistan on Wednesday.

“After serving close to three years as Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, I have requested the government that the time had come for me to move on and focus on my personal pursuits — family, books and agriculture/environment,” he said in a series of tweets today.

Sadiq said that he was grateful to the prime minister and all the other stakeholders for their “wholehearted support” to him as the special envoy.

“I deeply appreciate the hard work of many of my colleagues who spent long hours to make the Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship work,” he added.

The former ex-envoy confirmed the same to Dawn.com, saying that he had tendered his resignation to the premier. He also said that his resignation had been accepted by PM Shehbaz.

A notification issued later in the day from the Cabinet Division said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had accepted Sadiq’s resignation as a special assistant to the prime minister with immediate effect.

Sadiq was appointed to the crucial Afghan position in June 2020.

A career diplomat who retired in 2016 from the position of secretary of the national security division, Sadiq was Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul between December 2008 and April 2014.

He also served as Foreign Office spokesperson for about one and a half years. He was also posted in Washington DC (1998-2000), Beijing (1994-1998) and Brussels.

Opinion

Editorial

The challenge before banks
Updated 27 Feb, 2025

The challenge before banks

The way we do banking today will not exist in next 10 years, only those will survive who are capable of adopting new technologies.
Torkham tension
27 Feb, 2025

Torkham tension

CONTROVERSY over demarcation of the common frontier is one of the key obstacles standing in the way of better...
Weak link
27 Feb, 2025

Weak link

KARACHI — economic powerhouse, cultural melting pot, and bustling metropolis of over 20m souls. There is much that...
Forgotten inmates
Updated 26 Feb, 2025

Forgotten inmates

Diversion programmes are needed for minor offences and people with psychosocial disabilities should receive treatment rather than be jailed.
Controlling crypto
26 Feb, 2025

Controlling crypto

THOUGH Pakistan’s official position on cryptocurrencies has evolved considerably over the years, there still seems...
Deadly roads
26 Feb, 2025

Deadly roads

DRIVING in Karachi can be hazardous, with chaos on the roads, and very little by way of following rules and...