Farewell to the Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu

The US State Department has quietly confirmed the departure of Donald Lu, Assis­tant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, as his term concluded on January 17, 2025.

The announcement makes it clear that Mr Lu is leaving because he completed his tenure, and is not being sacked. This move, however, is likely to be interpreted as a victory by the PTI and dismissed by the government as a routine transition.

Lu's time in office has been tumultuous for Pakistan, marked by a political storm, with the former US diplomat becoming the proverbial eye of a political storm involving former prime minister Imran Khan, the country's military establishment, and the current political set-up in Islamabad.

A brief announcement posted on the department's official website revealed that "Mr Lu's term ended on January 17, 2025."

He had led the Bureau, which oversees US relations with Pakistan, since his appointment on September 15, 2021. Prior to this role, Mr Lu served as US Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic from 2018 to 2021 and Ambassador to Albania from 2015 to 2018.