The US State Department has been taking unusually long to process the appointment of Pakistan's Ambassador-designate to Washington, Masood Khan and the delay has triggered an impression of a pause in the process, Dawn reported.

Khan, who served as President of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) till last August, was nominated as Ambassador to the US in November. He had previously served as Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva and New York and as Ambassador to China.