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US President Donald Trump has nominated Natalie Baker to serve as Washington's next ambassador to Pakistan, setting in motion the process to fill the top diplomatic post in Islamabad after nearly two years, news agency PTI reported.
Baker, who currently serves as the charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Islamabad, has been handling the mission since January 2025, following the departure of former ambassador Donald Armin Blome.
The White House said her nomination has been forwarded to the US Senate for approval. It will first be examined by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before being put to a vote in the full Senate.
Baker will assume the ambassadorial role if confirmed by the Senate.
She joined the US mission in Islamabad as deputy chief of mission in August 2024. Before that, she served as deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Doha between August 2021 and July 2024.
Her diplomatic assignments have also included stints as deputy chief of mission and charge d'affaires at the US Mission to Libya, deputy director of the Iran Regional Presence Office at the US Consulate in Dubai, and economic counsellor at the US Embassy in Kuwait.
Baker has also served as director of the Office of North African Affairs in the US State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. During her tenure in Islamabad, she has remained actively engaged with Pakistani officials and political leaders.
She has also been part of the US diplomatic mission during a period of improved bilateral ties between Washington and Islamabad under Trump's presidency.
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(with inputs from PTI)
