MIRPUR (AJK) - Masood Khan, a retired diplomat, was Tuesday elected as new president of Azad Jammu & Kashmir for next five-year constitutional term.
Election to the top slot was held at the lodging hall of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad. The electoral college, comprising members of both houses of the AJK Parliament, the Legislative Assembly and AJK Council, exercised their right of vote to elect the president of AJK.
Masood Khan, belonging to Rawlakot area of Poonch district and nominee of PML-N, secured 42 votes against his only rival Ch Latif Akbar of PPP who could bag only six votes.
The AJK Council and 48 members of the legislative Assembly took part in the election process by exercising their right to vote to elect the new president of the state.
The Kashmiri-origin politician, Masood Khan, has a distinguished career as a seasoned diplomat of Pakistan, who has already served as the president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Masood Khan, who belongs to outskirts of Rawalakot city falling in Constituency LA-19, Poonch-III, was nominated by the PML-N as its candidate for the office of the AJK president. The PML-N swept the July 21 AJK general elections, securing 41 directly contested seats of the Legislative Assembly.
Masood Khan joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1980 and worked in various diplomatic positions. From August 2003 to March 2005, he served as the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from September 2008 to September 2012, as Pakistan’s Ambassador to China and as Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations from October 11, 2012, to February 7, 2015. He also served as the director general of Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, from February 2015 to August 2016.
His foreign assignments are: third secretary in Beijing (1984-1986), second secretary and first secretary at The Hague (1986-1989), Consular at the United Nations (1993-1997) and political consular in Washington-DC (1997-2002).
His assignments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are: section officer for Europe, Iran and South Asian countries (1980-1982), director for Economic Cooperation Organization, Overseas Pakistanis and International Conferences (1990-1991), director for the secretary general’s office (1991-1992), director-general for East Asia and Pacific (2002-2003), director-general for United Nations, Disarmament, and Organisation of the Islamic Conference (2003-2004) and spokesman for Pakistan Foreign Office (2003-2005).
He stayed as chairman for many forums, including International Organization for Migration Council, Group of 77 and China at Geneva, Government Group of International Labour Organization (ILO), Conference on Disarmament and Organization of the Islamic Conference at Geneva.
In September 2008, Masood Khan was appointed as Pakistan’s Ambassador to People’s Republic of China replacing Salman Bashir who joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as foreign secretary. In October 2012, he was appointed as Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations. He retired from the long diplomatic service on reaching the age of superannuation.