Senior diplomat Abbas Jilani appointed Pakistan's envoy to U.S.

This will be Jilani’s second assignment in the US, having previously served there as a Pakistani diplomat during the Clinton administration from 1995 to 1999.

While the decision had been taken in principle last month, it took the government nearly four weeks to make a formal announcement.

Ambassador Jilani joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1979. He was appointed as Foreign Secretary in March 2012. He is a career diplomat and prior to his current appointment, he has served as Pakistan Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union. He used to interact with NATO Headquarters in Brussels on a regular basis.

Jalil Abbas Jilani will join his new assignment as Pakistan’ Envoy to US in December 2013.

Other senior Pakistani diplomats were also appointed -- According to the government’s decision, Syed Ibn-e-Abbas will be the country’s new High Commissioner to India, Asif Durrani has been designated Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while Pakistan’s Ambassador for Italy, Ms Tehmina Janjua, will become Pakistan’s permanent representative (PR) for the United Nations in New York. Finally, Syed Ibrar Ahmad will be the new ambassador for Afghanistan. He is moving from Kuwait to Kabul.