afrol News, 30 August - Sudanese authorities have accepted Ashraf Jehangir Qazi as the country’s new Special UN Envoy. Qazi, the current UN Envoy in Iraq, replaces Jan Pronk who was expelled from Sudan in October last.

Khartoum authorities have reportedly notified the UN Chief, Ban Ki-Moon, about their acceptance of Qazi. Ban Ki-Moon is expected to travel with Qazi to Khartoum next week to officialise the envoy’s mission.

Ashraf Qazi, a Pakistani with an Irish mother, has been a long serving and experienced diplomat.

Jan Pronk, 66, a former Minister of Environment and Cooperation in the Netherlands, was expelled for the comments he had published in his blog, attacking the Khartoum government over its treatment of the Darfur crisis.

Sudanese authorities accused him of "demoralising the country and its army" - which is “incompatible with his mission.”

The expulsion resulted to tense relations between the UN and Khartoum that at the time refused the deployment of UN troops in its troubled western Sudanese region of Darfur. Its authorities interpreted the deployment as part of western powers’ plot to invade Sudan for their selfish interests.

The African Union Chief, Alpha Omar Konaré, who stressed the importance of Pronk’s “work in favour of security, human rights, and the constant efforts for the promotion of reconciliation and the achievement of lasting peace in Sudan”, said he was saddened by Khartoum’s decision.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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