Ali Jahangir meets US defense secretary James Mattis

WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s envoy to the United States (US) Ali Jahangir Siddiqui met US secretary of defense James N. Mattis at Pentagon, headquarters of the United States Department of Defense.

Jahangir received a warm welcome from James Mattis at Pentagon where the duo discussed Pakistan-US relations and pondered over the matters pertaining to the region.

According to sources, Mattis apprised Siddiqui about the US strategy in Afghanistan and the options of bringing Afghan Taliban to the table for negotiations.

Last month, new ambassador to the US Ali Jahangir Siddiqui attended his first public event in Washington that was arranged by a Republican leader Sajid Tarrar to welcome the new Pakistani envoy to the US.

Speaking to the attendees of the event, he asserted that he is determined to strengthen the ties between US and Pakistan. “Resolution of issues of Pakistani community is our priority because this very community will assist in bringing betterment to the Pak-US relations,” he added.

Siddiqui urged everyone to take part in Pakistan’s revival and reemergence and assured “we are well on our way towards it”.

“You can support us in many ways,” the ambassador said. “But more important than that is to participate in your political discourse and process.”

“If you can do that, then you can carry the Pakistan story and naturally offer a perspective that is your own, presenting Pakistan in a fair way,” he added.

On May 8, Siddiqui was appointed as the ambassador to the US after Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, his predecessor, retired from the post. The new envoy reached Washington, DC on May 29 and took charge of his new role of ambassadorship on May 30.

Siddiqui, who holds a BA in Economics from Cornell University, US, is the son of the famous banker and businessman Jahangir Siddiqui. He has served as director of Airblue airlines, Lucky Cement, Azgard Nine along with several other companies. In 2014, he was honoured as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Besides, he has also served as member of the Privatisation Commission, the Private Sector Advisory Board of the Planning Commission, the Sindh Board of Investment, and as member of the Community Development Board of the Government of Sindh.