United Nations: Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States and former high commissioner to India Ashraf Jehangir Qazi has been appointed as the United Nations top envoy in Iraq, a UN spokesperson said today (Jul 12, 2004).

He was among the three "highly qualified" candidates short-listed for the post, the two others being India's former Foreign Secretary Salman Haider and former Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan.

Qazi replaces Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was killed with 21 others in a bomb attack on the UN office in Baghdad in August last year.

The UN spokesperson declined to go into the reasons for Secretary-General Kofi Annan preferring Qazi over the other candidates.

But diplomats say that Pakistan had made it a condition that it would send troops to Iraq for protection of the United Nations personnel only if Qazi was appointed Secretary-General's special envoy in Iraq.

The UN officials confirmed that Pakistan is one of the countries from whom the UN has sought troops. The troops who would be earmarked for protection of the UN personnel would be under overall command of the United States.

It is yet unclear whether Qazi would be based in Iraq or in Amman, Jordan, from where the UN staff operates now.

Following two bombings of the UN headquarters, Annan had pulled out all international staff from the country. At present, the international staff is based in Amman, Jordan. It works though local staff in Iraq.