# List of ambassadors of Pakistan to the United States

The Pakistan Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the Pakistan Embassy, Washington, D.C., and Pakistan's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United States of America.

## History

The embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C., was built on 28 August 1947, when Pakistan attained independence from Great Britain and separated from India to form the Dominion of Pakistan. From the onset, Pakistan adopted a pro-American policy, with relations taking an upturn in 1954 when Pakistan signed several defense pacts with the United States – first the SEATO and then CENTO in 1955. Their relations were soured because of the subsequent Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971, but were rejuvenated due to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the ensuing covert war of 1980–88. Pakistan's secret nuclear programme led the US to impose sanctions on Pakistan, thus deteriorating Pakistani-American relations, but the War on Terrorism again placed Pakistan in the good books of America, improving the two countries' bilateral relations once more.
Therefore, the Pakistani ambassadors to the US were not only the top officers of the Pakistani civil service, but also political appointees of respective governments of the time. Some former ambassadors later rose to command positions in the Pakistani government, with one of them, Muhammad Ali Bogra, becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

## List of Pakistani Ambassadors to the United States

| Name and Title | Entered Office | Left Office |
| Abul Hassan Isphani | 8 October 1948 | 8 February 1952 |
| Muhammad Ali Bogra | 27 February 1952 | 16 April 1953 |
| Syed Amjad Ali | 26 September 1953 | 17 September 1955 |
| Muhammad Ali Bogra | November 1955 | March 1959 |
| Aziz Ahmed | 23 March 1959 | July 1963 |
| Ghulam Ahmed | 19 July 1963 | 15 September 1966 |
| Agha Hilaly | 21 October 1966 | 20 October 1971 |
| Maj Gen (R) N.A.M. Raza | 22 October 1971 | 22 April 1972 |
| Sultan Mohammed Khan | 15 May 1972 | 8 December 1973 |
| Lt Gen (R) Sahabzada Yaqub Khan | 19 December 1973 | 3 January 1979 |
| Sultan Mohammed Khan | 13 January 1979 | 31 December 1980 |
| Lt Gen Ejaz Azim | 7 July 1981 | 15 September 1986 |
| Jamsheed Marker | 17 September 1986 | 30 June 1989 |
| Air Chief Marshal (R) Zulfiqar Ali Khan | 12 July 1989 | 15 September 1990 |
| Najmuddin Shaikh | 14 October 1990 | 22 November 1991 |
| Abida Hussain | 26 November 1991 | 24 April 1993 |
| Maliha Lodhi | 21 January 1994 | 30 January 1997 |
| Riaz Khokhar | 12 March 1997 | 7 September 1999 |
| Tariq Fatemi | 8 September 1999 | 16 December 1999 |
| Maliha Lodhi | 17 December 1999 | 4 August 2002 |
| Ashraf Qazi | 19 August 2002 | 6 August 2004 |
| General (R) Jehangir Karamat | 17 August 2004 | 3 June 2006 |
| Maj Gen (R) Mahmud Ali Durrani | 5 June 2006 | 9 May 2008 |
| Husain Haqqani | 26 May 2008 | 22 November 2011 |
| Sherry Rehman | 23 November 2011 | 14 October 2013 |
| Jalil Abbas Jilani | 2 December 2013 | 26 February 2017 |
| Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry | 1 March 2017 | 11 May 2018 |
| Ali Jehangir Siddiqui | 29 May 2018 | 25 December 2018 |
| Asad Majeed Khan | 11 January 2019 | 2022 |
| Masood Khan | 2022 | August 2024 |
| Rizwan Saeed Sheikh | August 2024 | Incumbent |