ISLAMABAD: The United States State Department has appointed Pakistani-American businessman and entrepreneur Dilawar Syed the new Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs.
The special representative is responsible for advancing trade, commercial, and economic policies for America’s workers and the middle-class to help create well-paying jobs and strengthen American communities.
“The Department of State is pleased to announce Dilawar Syed as the new Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs,” a statement from the State Department said. “Special Representative Syed brings a strong background in business and entrepreneurship, having built global enterprises in the fields of technology, health care, and business services.”
Gautam Raghavan, Director, White House Office of Presidential Personnel, said he was grateful to Syed for agreeing to take on the role.
“Proud to call this talented leader & public servant a colleague,” he said on Twitter.
Syed immigrated to the US as a college student to attend the College of Wooster in Ohio, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). He earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics and computer science from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, it added.
The newly appointed special representative has worked at the federal and state levels where he advanced commercial and economic policies that benefitted American workers and businesses, said the State Department.
During the Barack Obama administration, Syed played an important role in promoting the State Department’s Global Entrepreneurship Program. He also connected Silicon Valley innovators with emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems in the US.
“As the founding Chair of the California Entrepreneurship Task Force, Special Representative Syed drove inclusive entrepreneurship that bridged coastal regions with the state’s rural heartland and helped small businesses struggling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the State Department press release said.
State Department appoints Pakistani-American as special representative for commercial and business affairs
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State Department appoints Pakistani-American as special representative for commercial and business affairs
- Dilawar Syed has worked at the federal and state levels where he advanced commercial and economic policies
- During Obama administration, Syed played important role in promoting State Department’s Global Entrepreneurship Program
Death toll in Pakistan wedding suicide blast rises to six
- Attack targeted members of local peace committee in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan
- Peace committees are community-based groups that report militant activity to security forces
PESHAWAR: The death toll from a suicide bombing at a wedding ceremony in northwestern Pakistan rose to six, police said on Saturday, after funeral prayers were held for those killed in the attack a day earlier.
The bomber detonated explosives during a wedding gathering in the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, injuring more than a dozen, some of them critically.
“The death toll has surged to six,” said Nawab Khan, Superintendent of Police for Saddar Dera Ismail Khan. “Police have completed the formalities and registered the case against unidentified attackers.”
“It was a suicide attack and the Counter Terrorism Department will further investigate the case,” he continued, adding that security had been stepped up across the district to prevent further incidents.
No militant group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.
Khan cautioned against speculation, citing ongoing militancy in the area, and said the investigation was being treated with “utmost seriousness.”
The explosion targeted the home of a member of a local peace committee, which is part of community-based groups that cooperate with security forces and whose members have frequently been targeted by militants in the past.
Some media reports also cited a death toll of seven, quoting police authorities.
Emergency officials said several of the wounded were taken to hospital soon after the blast.
Militant attacks have intensified in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the Taliban returned to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021, with Islamabad accusing Afghan authorities of “facilitating” cross-border assaults, a charge Kabul denies.
