ISLAMABAD, July 2 Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has taken up with President Asif Ali Zardari the controversy over the appointment of a District Management Group officer as ambassador to France, while Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir appears to have succeeded in dissuading Foreign Service officers from taking the matter to court.

Sources told Dawn after a meeting of Foreign Service officers on Thursday that recourse to a court might be avoided on the foreign secretary's advice and all eyes were now on Mr Qureshi for finding an amicable solution to the dispute.

The controversy over the appointment of Dr Jehanzeb Khan as ambassador has started at a time when France is mulling over a civil nuclear agreement with Pakistan.

The deputy to the ambassador in France is reported to have sought a recall instead of serving under a junior officer.

The controversy has also echoed among diplomatic circles. An Indian diplomat said at a gathering recently “I can say without any fear of contradiction that such things do not happen in India. We have never had any non-foreign service officers except for some outstanding exceptions like Kuldip Nayyar, and I don't remember anyone from the military or the IAS (Indian Administrative Service).”

A European diplomat wondered “Why do you have to make a mountain out of straightforward issues, especially in foreign policy, when you are facing such difficult challenges.”

Foreign Service officers feel that the appointment of a junior officer from another group will set a wrong precedent and may be used by the rulers in future to promote nepotism.

They said postings in the United States, United Nations in New York, United Kingdom and India were already being made on contractual basis.

On the other hand, DMG officers feel that “it is just one appointment of a capable officer and not precedent setting”.

An officer of the Income Tax Group, who has had two foreign stints, said “How will you run an embassy where the deputy chief of mission, the defence attache and other allied officers are senior to the ambassador.”

Some officers of other service groups suggested that Dr Jehanzeb should be appointed as trade minister in the mission in grade 20, instead of as ambassador, to resolve the issue.