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
Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s volatile southwest, military says
- Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency
- The Balochistan government has recently established a threat assessment center to strengthen early warning, prevent ‘terrorism’ incidents
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces gunned down four militants in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday.
The operation was conducted in Balochistan’s Kalat district on reports about the presence of militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
The “Indian-sponsored militants” were killed in an exchange of fire during the operation, while weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the deceased, who remained actively involved in numerous militant activities.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency involving Baloch separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
Pakistan accuses India of supporting these separatist militant groups and describes them as “Fitna Al-Hindustan.” New Delhi denies the allegation.
The government in Balochistan has also established a state-of-the-art threat assessment center to strengthen early warning and prevention against “terrorism” incidents, a senior official said this week.
“Information that was once scattered is now shared and acted upon in time, allowing the state to move from reacting after incidents to preventing them before they occur,” Balochistan Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat wrote on X.
The development follows a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last month, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387.
These included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said.
