Islamabad, Feb 1 : The US State Department is taking longer than usual time to approve the appointment of Masood Khan’s appointment as the Pakistan envoy to the US, the Dawn reported Today. Normally, the time taken by the State Department to issue agrément for Pakistani ambassadors in the past took four to six weeks. But the unusually long time being taken this time around to process the agrément of Pakistan’s ambassador-designate to the United States has led to speculation in the Pakistani establishment of a pause in the process. The delay has happened at a time when ties between the two countries have turned increasingly frosty due to the current geo-political environment, with the US interest in Pakistan waning after it pulled out of Afghanistan last year. Moreover, Washington looks at ties with Pakistan from the prism of its strategic competition with China, even although Islamabad has repeatedly claimed that it was not part of any camp politics. The request for agrément for Masood Khan had been sent to the State Department in the second week of November, reports said, but is yet to be approved.(UNI)