Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry

Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry studied science at Punjab University and international relations at Tufts University before a diplomatic career lasting 37 years. His early overseas work included Cairo, Doha, and Tehran. He later became Pakistan’s deputy permanent representative at the United Nations, ambassador to the Netherlands, and an additional foreign secretary responsible for UN and disarmament affairs. ^{1, 2}

As director general for South Asia, Chaudhry worked on the peace process with India. He subsequently served as Foreign Office spokesperson and foreign secretary from December 2013 to March 2017, before taking up the Washington ambassadorship. ¹

His American posting coincided with the Trump administration’s sharper criticism of Pakistan over the war in Afghanistan. Speaking at George Washington University in 2017, Chaudhry rejected the charge that Pakistan provided safe havens for terrorists and argued that stability in Afghanistan served both countries’ interests. In a Georgetown interview, he called for continued security cooperation alongside investment, trade, education, and social development, while defending the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor. ^{3, 4}

After retirement, Chaudhry directed the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad from 2018 to 2022 and later chaired the Sanober Institute. His books include Pakistan Mirrored to Dutch Eyes, the memoir Diplomatic Footprints, and Headwinds and Horizons. In a 2022 interview, he argued that Pakistan should maintain constructive relations with the United States, China, Russia, and other major powers without taking sides in their competition. ^{1, 2, 5}