Asad Majeed Khan

Asad Majeed Khan combined a diplomatic career with legal scholarship, earning a doctorate in international economic and business law at Kyushu University in Japan. He subsequently taught and advised Pakistani training institutions on trade law and World Trade Organization affairs. His foreign service work included West Asian and UN affairs, the Group of 77, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. He served as Washington’s deputy chief of mission and as ambassador to Japan before returning to the United States as ambassador in January 2019. ¹

During the American posting, Khan argued for cooperation over Afghanistan and for a broader economic relationship. At a July 2021 discussion hosted by the United States Institute of Peace, he advocated an inclusive negotiated settlement in Afghanistan and coordinated diplomacy by Pakistan, China, Russia, and the United States. He also proposed closer cooperation in energy, agriculture, and technology. ²

A confidential telegram reporting his March 7, 2022, working lunch with American official Donald Lu later became central to Pakistan’s political controversy over the diplomatic ‘cipher.’ Testifying as a witness in January 2024, Khan said that he had recommended a formal diplomatic protest, but that the telegram contained no reference to the words ‘threat’ or ‘conspiracy.’ He described the ensuing controversy as damaging to the bilateral relationship. ³

After leaving Washington in March 2022, Khan served as ambassador to Belgium, the European Union, and Luxembourg. In December that year, the government appointed him foreign secretary. ^{4, 3}