Islamabad/New Delhi, Feb. 11: A day after India and Pakistan announced their decision to resume talks, Mr Shah Mahmood Qureshi was dropped as Pakistan’s foreign minister as the President, Mr Asif Ali Zardari, swore in a new 22-member Cabinet.
Mr Qureshi’s name was in the list of ministers who were supposed to take oath but missed out at the last minute following differences over a change of his portfolio after a meeting with the PM, Geo TV said.
Mr Qureshi had been at the forefront of Pakistan's foreign policy initiatives during the last three years at crucial junctures and was also set to spearhead the resumption of bilateral talks with India in July as well as a controversy arising out of the arrest of a US diplomat, Raymond Davis, in Pakistan.
US-Pakistan relations have been tense over the last fortnight or so because the country has refused to release Davis despite demands of US administration for diplomatic immunity.
Mr Qureshi was also scheduled to travel to Washington later this month for a meeting with his US counterpart, Ms Hillary Clinton.