State Department appoints Pakistani-American as special representative for commercial and business affairs

Pakistani-American businessman and entrepreneur Dilawar Syed (R) poses for a photo with US President Joe Biden (L) posted on Dilawar Syed's Twitter on Nov 7, 2020. (Twitter/FILE)
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Updated 16 February 2022
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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

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.


Pakistan expresses solidarity with Canada as school shooting claims 9 lives

Updated 11 February 2026
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Pakistan expresses solidarity with Canada as school shooting claims 9 lives

  • At least 9 dead, 27 wounded in shooting incident at secondary school, residence in British Columbia on Tuesday
  • Officials say the shooter was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after the incident

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed solidarity with Canada as a high school shooting incident in a British Columbia town left at least nine dead, more than 20 others injured. 

Six people were found at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School while a seventh died on the way to the hospital, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement on Tuesday. Two other people were found dead at a home that police believe is connected to the shooting at the school. A total of 27 people were wounded in the attack. 

In an initial emergency alert, police described the suspect as a “female in a dress with brown hair,” with officials saying she was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“Saddened by the tragic shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.

He conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a swift recovery to those injured in the attack. 

“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people and Government of Canada in this difficult time,” he added. 

Canadian police have not yet released any information about the age of the shooter or the victims.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the violence, announcing he had suspended plans to travel to the Munich Security Conference on Wednesday.

While mass shootings are rare in Canada, last April, a vehicle attack that targeted a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver killed 11 people.

British Columbia Premier David Eby called the latest violence “unimaginable.”

Nina Krieger, British Columbia’s minister of public safety, described it as one of the “worst mass shootings” in Canada’s history.