Naming of High Commissioner not yet final, says Pak foreign office

Hours after the state-run Pakistan Television reported that PM Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has appointed Riaz Muhammed Khan, the ambassador to China as its new High Commissioner to India, the Foreign Office issued a statement in the wee hours today that no final decision has been yet made and that Jamali has been ‘‘wrongly quoted’’.

In an extraordinary clarification issued early in the morning through APP news agency six hours after the announcement, a foreign office spokesman said Jamali has not been correctly quoted and the final decision has not been taken as yet by the Prime Minister.

Premature to comment: Khan

BEIJING: Pakistan’s envoy to China Riaz Mohammad Khan, who has been named as the country’s next High Commissioner to India, on Sunday said it was premature to comment on reports about his transfer. ‘‘There is nothing official about it as far as I know,’’ Khan said when asked on his new appointment. ‘‘It is a bit premature to comment,’’ he said. (PTI)

State television in its news bulletin at 1830 hrs IST said Jamali made the announcement in an interview to Doordarshan. Khan himself told Pakistan media in Beijing that he has not yet been officially informed about his new assignment. He said he has received many requests from various journalists but refused to comment until he assumed charge.