No-objection to Pakistan's Amjab Hussain B Sial at SAARC shows thaw in ties

NEW DELHI: The impasse over the Secretary General of SAARC is over with Pak diplomat Amjab Hussain B Sial taking charge from March 1 after Delhi reportedly removed its reservation on the appointment not being made by the Foreign Ministers level meeting.

"Amjad Hussain B. Sial has assumed charge of the office of Secretary General of SAARC from 01 March 2017, on completion of the tenure of former Secretary General," according to an official statement. India did not offer any formal reaction to the developments.

Sial was Director (Pakistan) from 2003-2006, at SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu. Sial earlier served as Ambassador of Pakistan to Tajikistan from 2011-2014 and Ambassador/Alternate Permanent Representative at Pakistan Mission to the United Nations, New York. Pakistan will be new SAARC chair.

Earlier last month a meeting of the senior diplomats of the Saarc's eight member nations in Kathmandu failed to make any headway to end the impasse over the 19th summit of the bloc. Term of SAARC Secretary General from Nepal Arjun Bahadur Thapa ended on February 28.

Thapa took over as Saarc Secretary General on March 1, 2014 after Kathmandu nominated the Nepalese career diplomat for a three-year term at the helm of the bloc's secretariat.

Though Pakistan had nominated its diplomat Amjad Hussain B. Sial to be the next Secretary General of the Saarc, India had argued that his appointment should be confirmed by the Council of Ministers – a body comprising the foreign ministers of all the eight member nations – as stipulated by the Article V of the Memorandum of Agreement on establishment of the Saarc Secretariat. India lifting the reservation could be viewed as an indication of thawing of ties with Pakistan. The process includes release of Pak prisoners and Permanent Indus Commission meeting.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers was scheduled to take place just before the 19th Saarc summit, which was to be held at Islamabad in November last year.