Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq resigns

• Officials say Sadiq had requested PM multiple times to be relieved.
• Sadiq's appointment in 2020 was greatly welcomed by Kabul.
• His replacement expected to be a consensus candidate.

ISLAMABAD: After holding the post of Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan since 2020, Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq resigned from office, reported The News on Thursday.

While Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to whom the ambassador reported directly, has accepted his resignation, the notification has not been made public and the former ambassador took to Twitter to announce his resignation. 

The special representatives, mostly retired ambassadors, no longer report directly to the Foreign Office.

“After serving close to three years as Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, I have requested the government that the time has come for me to move on and focus on my personal pursuits, family, books and agriculture and environment,” he tweeted.

“I am grateful to the prime minister and stakeholders for their wholehearted support to me as Special Representative for Afghanistan. I deeply appreciate the hard work of many of my colleagues who spent long hours to make the Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship work,” Sadiq added.

Sadiq was in the delegation that Defence Minister Khawaja Asif led to Kabul for a day-long trip late last month. This will be considered his last assignment.

According to the publication, the envoy was seen as a serious and hardworking diplomat seeking an improvement in bilateral relations with Afghanistan. When he had been named the special representative, he was greatly welcomed by Kabul, one of the few Pakistani diplomats held in high esteem by the war-torn country.

He had made good contacts in Afghanistan when he served as ambassador there in 2008, contacts that served him well when he returned. He had on his return from Kabul also served as secretary National Security Division.

Officials, who spoke to The News on the condition of anonymity, said that Sadiq requested Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif multiple times and requested to be relieved. 

Sadiq now wants time for himself and will be concentrating on his land in Cholistan where he is working to cover large areas into forests and also spend time on his orchards and plant nurseries in the Attock region. It is expected that he will write a book about his experiences as a diplomat.

Who will be new envoy?

Meanwhile, efforts are on to nominate Sadiq’s replacement and several names of retired ambassadors have come up but so far there has been no consensus.

Since it is a sensitive assignment related directly to Pakistan’s security, there will be input from the army and the premier intelligence agency. In such circumstances, Sadiq’s replacement is expected to be a consensus candidate.

Officials say that Sadiq has left at a time when trade is expected to rise further, with trade links to the Central Asian Republics also taking off; more importantly, the new agreed Afghan policy is there which needs to be streamlined.

Sadiq had earlier welcomed the convention between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which seeks to avoid double income tax.

“This is an important step forward and it took us some 12 years to cross this milestone. Investors, contractors and businesses on both sides will benefit significantly,” he had said.

The fresh influx of Afghan refugees that streamed into Pakistan after the fall of Kabul resulted in Pakistan reaching out to different organisations for support.

“This is an alarming situation and needs to be addressed at many levels. It is important that pull factors are created in Afghanistan so that not only the new exodus stops but refugees already in Pakistan return to their homes,” Sadiq commented.

'Matchless insights'

As Pakistan’s Charge d’affaires, Ubaid Nizamani continues to remain in Pakistan after an attack on him. Sadiq has often raised his voice in meetings, saying that the security conditions in Kabul are not conducive for Pakistan’s top diplomat’s return.

“Thank you so much for your selfless service to Pakistan, sir. I was immensely privileged to benefit from your matchless insights in the past few months. Wishing you the best in your future endeavours!” Charge d’ Affaires Ubaid Nizamani tweeted upon hearing the news of their resignation.