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Summary Former US diplomat Marc Grossman has been officially named as the new US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, tasked with smoothing out two of the most complicated US relationships, Dunya News reported.
Talking in Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Grossmans appointment to succeed Richard Holbrooke. Hilary said that Grossman knows our allies and understands how to mobilise common action to meet shared challenges. She also maintaned that it is now Pakistans reponsibility to bring Taliban to table-talks. Grossman would step in at a critical time for the Washingtons war strategy in Afghanistan, with plans to begin withdrawing US troops this summer. Afghan forces are due to take responsibility for security from 2014, allowing international troops to pull back. And strained US ties with Pakistan have reached a new low after Islamabad balked at US demands to grant diplomatic immunity to an American official facing murder charges in the country.Grossman has served as assistant secretary of state for Europe and ambassador to Turkey. His last post before retiring from the Foreign Service in 2005 was undersecretary for political affairs under former president George W. Bushs first term in office.
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