Jalil Abbas Jilani is a former diplomat who served as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan. A specialist in South Asian affairs, he also worked in SAARC, acting High Commissioner to India and Director (India) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Family and Early Life
Born on February 3, 1955, in Multan, Jilani belongs to an influential family of high-profile bureaucrats.
He is the cousin of former PM Yusuf Raza Gilani. He is also the son-in-law and nephew of Makhdoum Salahiddin Jillani, who is the elder brother of Mr. Tassadaq Jilani, the former chief Justice of Pakistan. Jilani’s brother, Salim Abbas Jillani, is a retired Defence Secretary.
The Jilani family’s loyalties lie with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Jilani is fluent in multiple languages including French, Arabic, Seraiki, Punjabi, and Pushto.
Education
Jilani studied at the University of Oxford graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Law and later on an M.Sc degree in Defense and Strategic Studies. He then joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in March 1979.
Professional Career
A retired Pakistani diplomat who served in Grade-22 as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Jilani served as Pakistan’s envoy to the United States, Belgium, Luxemburg, the EU, and Australia.
Credited as a specialist in South Asian affairs, Jilani also worked in SAARC acting as High Commissioner to India and Director (India) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He served as the deputy secretary at Prime Minister’s Office between 1989 and 1992, and as the deputy high commissioner to India between 1999 and 2003. In addition, Jilani also served in Jeddah and London in the 1980s.
From 1999 to 2003, he was deputy high commissioner/acting high commissioner to New Delhi. From 2003 to 2007, Jilani served as the director general South Asia & SAARC.
Jilani headed the South Asia desk at the Foreign Office between 2003 and 2007 during which he was appointed as the Ministry’s Spokesman.
In 2007, he was commissioned as Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Australia and served until 2009. During his time, he acted as the Ambassador of Pakistan to European Union.
In 2010, Jilani was promoted to the highest rank of BPS-22 grade, becoming the country’s Foreign Secretary in March 2012, the top civil service official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He served as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan from March 2012 to December 2013, then became the 22nd Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States from December 2013 to February 2017.
In 2018, the Government of Pakistan nominated Ambassador Jilani as member of the Experts and Eminent Persons Group (EEP) of the ASEAN Regional Forum. In 2019, he became the member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs.
Most recently, Ambassador Jilani served as a Senior Fellow at both International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).
With 38 years of bilateral and multilateral experience as a career diplomat, Jilani currently serves as a Senior Director at the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS) overlooking International / regional developments and their implications on Pakistan, analysing emerging foreign policy challenges, and inputs on Pakistan’s foreign policy choices in evolving situations.
Caretaker Foreign Minister of Pakistan
In August, 2023, Jalil Jilani was made the caretaker Foreign Minister of Pakistan, succeeding Bilawal Bhutto.
