BERLIN, Feb 16: Germany on Monday followed the lead of the US and Britain in announcing the appointment of a special envoy for two countries increasingly seen as part of the same problem: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The appointment of Bernd Muetzelburg, currently Germany’s ambassador to India, to the role will “further intensify Germany’s diplomatic engagement in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” the foreign ministry in Berlin said.

US President Barack Obama last month named Richard Holbrooke as his special envoy to Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan — collectively dubbed AfPak — tasked with implementing an integrated US strategy towards both countries.

Germany is currently raising troop levels in Afghanistan to around 4,500 under the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force. Most of Germany’s soldiers are based in the north. —AFP