No controversy in Maleeha Lodhi’s routine but outstanding replacement
The change of guard at Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York has sparked a lively discussion in social and print media. It involves replacing a distinguished diplomat, Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, with a well-known veteran of multilateral diplomacy, Ambassador Munir Akram.
Dr. Lodhi has served in New York for more than four years and was due for a replacement. She has done a splendid job of projecting Pakistan’s soft image, employing public diplomacy to good use and lately, successfully highlighting the Kashmir issue. Discussions on Kashmir, in the UN Security Council in August, were the first of their kind in 50 years with the issue once again internationalized.
Dr. Lodhi has played many roles in an outstanding career. After receiving a doctorate from London School of Economics, she also taught at her alma mater. Entering the field of journalism in Pakistan in the 1980’s, she edited two leading English dailies. She has been Ambassador of Pakistan to the US twice, to the United Kingdom once and holds the singular honor of being the first female Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations. In 1994, Time magazine listed her among 100 persons who would influence events in the 21st century.
Dr. Lodhi has done a splendid job of projecting Pakistan’s soft image, employing public diplomacy to good use and lately, successfully highlighting the Kashmir issue.
Javed Hafeez
Ambassador Akram, whom I have known as a colleague for years, has spent much of his roughly 40 year career, in multilateral diplomacy. During his last stint in New York, the UN’s system reform was a hot issue. Akram pleaded Pakistan’s point of view, arguing that any reform of the UN ought to be deliberated carefully and undertaken by consensus.
Four member states, Brazil, India, Japan and Germany had pitched their candidatures as permanent members of the UN Security Council. Akram actively created a group of like-minded countries to oppose this move, arguing that it would make the international body more undemocratic by enhancing the number of privileged members who enjoy veto power. This group, called “Uniting for Consensus,” included Spain, Italy, South Korea, Argentina and Pakistan.
Many people have felt surprised by what they thought was a sudden change in the Pakistan mission to the UN. But in reality, this was not an unexpected change. Non-career ambassadors like Dr. Lodhi are appointed initially for a period of two years, extendable by one year. She was sent to New York in February 2015 and her contract period was extended twice. In fact, she is the second longest serving non-career Ambassador of Pakistan after the legendary Jamshed Marker. She was appointed Ambassador once by Benazir Bhutto, twice by General Musharraf and in 2015, by the Muslim League government of Nawaz Sharif. During all four assignments, she served Pakistan with distinction.
For Ambassador Akram’s agenda at the UN, Kashmir will be top priority. The burning issue will resonate in all relevant forums and in various UN committees tasked with the protection of human rights.
Ambassador Akram enjoys the confidence of Prime Minister Imran Khan and it should be recalled that before starting formal engagements during his maiden official visit to the US last July, the Prime Minister had an exclusive meeting with him. The ambassador is known as hawkish and we should expect some lively debates at the UN. His hawkishness is, however, mingled with diplomatic dignity and poise. His words are forceful but well measured.
Dr. Lodhi has been an active ambassador during her four assignments. She had useful contacts in host governments and was popular among colleagues. Akram is a strategist whose advice has been frequently solicited by foreign governments after his retirement from regular service in 2007. His fortnightly column in a leading Pakistani English daily has a wide readership with accurate analyses of current affairs and his column often ends with solid recommendations.
Ambassador Akram has been closely associated with disarmament talks and trade issues during the Doha round of negotiations while the WTO was in its formative phase. He has all the facets of multilateral diplomacy on his fingertips. Now, he should continue with some of Dr. Lodhi’s initiatives to contest Islamophobia in the world, while focusing on the urgent problem of climate change.
On the other hand, I am optimistic that upon Dr. Lodhi return to Islamabad, she will be consulted by the government regularly as she holds a wide experience of teaching, journalism and diplomacy.
Rightly so, Pakistan can be proud of these two patriots, who have served their country with distinction. There is no controversy here; just a change of guard from one outstanding diplomat to another.
