Post of US special rep for Afghanistan, Pakistan may go

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): The post of US special representative for Pakistan may be abolished by the Trump administration, a newspaper reported on Monday.

A massive 28 percent cut in the State Department’s budget would affect foreign assistance provides to US allies, Dawn quoted unnamed diplomatic sources as saying.

Suggested in the Trump administration’s 2018-19 budget, the reduction would force the State Department’s downsizing. The president and his aides are reviewing whether to eliminate special envoy positions.

The special representative’s task includes coordination across the government to meet US strategic goals in the region while engaging NATO and other key friends, allies and others to support these efforts.

Dan Feldman, who served as special representative from 2014 to 2015, was quoted as saying the office was created to combine diplomacy with the military offensive to restore peace in Afghanistan.

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