Acting US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP) Frank Ruggiero will arrive in Pakistan Thursday (Thursday) on his maiden visit to the region with a message of reaffirmation of US commitment to the people of Pakistan. Ruggiero had assumed the post following the death of Richard Holbrooke last month.
The death, just days before the Obama administration was scheduled to announce the latest review of US policy in Afghanistan, is considered as a major blow to the administration since Holbooke was a central member of the team. Frank Ruggiero was Holbrooke's deputy until the death of the veteran diplomat.
The special representative will meet with government officials, representatives of civil society and the media during his three-day visit (January 6-8). A statement issued by the US embassy said that 'during his visit, Acting SRAP Ruggiero will reaffirm that the United States remains committed to the people of Pakistan and will continue to support Pakistan's efforts to ensure greater peace, security and stability in the region now and in the future'.
Ruggiero's visit coincides with the trip of the Afghan Peace Council formed by President Hamid Karzai to seek a political solution to his strife-ridden country by engaging with the Taliban in dialogue. A 25-member delegation of the High Council for Peace in Afghanistan led by Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani is also in Islamabad on the invitation extended by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
The delegation met Minister for State for Foreign Affairs, Nawabzada Malik here on Wednesday. Pakistan has expressed readiness to render all assistance to Afghan-owned and Afghan-led process of reconciliation and reintegration through persuading the Taliban to end bloodshed in the war ravaged country.
The new US envoy has been tasked with what many believe as a very challenging mission that includes ending a nine-year old war, which is now viewed by the American public as an exercise in futility. The late Richard Holbrooke had reportedly appealed for an end to the bloodshed in Afghanistan. In addition, the former special envoy had not approved of the US strategy in Afghanistan. In Obama's Wars, a book by the journalist Bob Woodward, Holbrooke is quoted as saying that the Afghan strategy "cannot work".
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