ISLAMABAD, March 2: The government on Wednesday informed the National Assembly that representation of the armed forces in the Foreign Office was more than the sanctioned quota of 10 per cent with some 67 officers holding important posts.

The information was placed before the house by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to a question by MNA Nawab Ghani Talpur.

The ministry also informed the National Assembly that 11 political appointees and eight retired armed forces personnel were currently posted as ambassadors on contract basis in Pakistani missions abroad. The total number of contractual ambassadors thus stood at 19.

The information revealed that the government recently extended the tenure of postings of eight ambassadors, high commissioners and consul-generals including two retired generals.

In reply to Mr Talpur's question, the ministry said that under the current policy, a 10 per cent quota for armed forces had been established in the Foreign Service at entry level in BPS-17. However, the current representation of the armed forces officers stood at 14.28 per cent, said the ministry.

According to the official record submitted before the house, the foreign ministry appointed three retired armed forces officials at the senior level. Of the three, Brig (retd) Mohammad Nisar has been inducted as a regular official and is currently serving as ambassador to Argentina.

Brig (retd) Mian Khalid Habib was given a contractual employment in the foreign office and served as chief of protocol. The record showed that he has completed his contract. Col (retd) Salik Nawaz was inducted in the Foreign Office as a contractual employee and was currently serving as deputy chief of protocol.

The ambassadors, high commissioners and consul-generals whose tenure of postings abroad has been extended recently are Lt-Gen (retd) Agha Jehangir Ali Khan (Mexico), Maj-Gen (retd) Syed Mustafa Anwer Hussain (Jakarta), Maj (retd) Badruddin Hussain (Brunei), Amanullah Larik, consul-general in Dubai, Rustam Shah Mohammad (Afghanistan), Shaukat Umar (Geneva), Ali Sarwar Naqvi (Austria) and Salahuddin Chaudhry (Manchester).

PAKISTANI PRISONERS: In reply to a question by MNA Maulana Abdul Malik, the government informed the house that Thai authorities had imprisoned about 100 Pakistanis.

The government said it was negotiating an agreement with the Thai authorities on 'Transfer of Offenders and on Cooperation in the Enforcement of Penal Sentences'. In reply to a question by MNA Hafiz Salman Butt, the government said that 239 Pakistanis were in jails in Turkey and Iran.

The government said that 145 Pakistanis were imprisoned in Turkey and 94 in Iran on charges ranging from illegal entry to drug trafficking to smuggling and possession of illegal arms.

The house was told that the Foreign Office had approached the Iranian and Turkish embassies in Islamabad to ensure that no injustice was done to the Pakistani prisoners. The government said 234 Pakistanis were repatriated from Turkey via Iran in October 2004.