Former Pakistani air force officer becomes ambassador to the UAE

Afzaal Mahmood is also a seasoned diplomat

Cricket fans wave UAE and Pakistan flags during a match between Pakistan and Australia at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in 2009.

A former Pakistani air force officer has been appointed as the country's ambassador to the UAE.

Afzaal Mahmood took up his post in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. The seasoned diplomat was previously ambassador to Bahrain and served in senior foreign office roles in the US and Bangladesh.

He takes on a crucial role at an important time. More than 1.5 million Pakistanis live in the UAE, making up the second largest expatriate population in the Emirates, after Indian citizens. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, in December met Pakistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, to discuss issues including recent visa restrictions. Sheikh Abdullah said the visa rules on Pakistanis were temporary to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Mr Mahmood, who speaks Turkish, Indonesian, Urdu, English and Punjabi, began his career as a Pakistan Air Force officer, and then entered his country's foreign service. Since then, he has taken on notable assignments including consul general in Houston, United States from 2013 to 2016. Before that, he served a four-year stint as deputy high commissioner of Pakistan in Bangladesh.
During his tenure at the ministry of foreign affairs in Islamabad, he also served as director general for Americas and Europe and director for Iran-Turkey, Europe and South Asia.

He previously studied economics at the government post graduate college in the Pakistani city of Chakwal. He also studied Turkish at Ankara University in Turkey.

The former ambassador in the UAE capital, Ghulam Dastagir retired in October last year and returned to Pakistan.

The UAE and Pakistan, meanwhile, share strong and historic ties. Pakistan was among the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with the UAE and has maintained good relations since 1971.

During Mr Qureshi's visit, the UAE pledged Dh734 million ($200m) in development aid to the country, which was struggling economically at the time.

The UAE is also involved in efforts to eradicate polio in Pakistan by 2022.

Prime Minister Imran Khan's official visit to the UAE in November 2018