WASHINGTON: The transition from Husain Haqqani to Sherry Rehman will be ‘seamless,’ says the US State Department as diplomatic circles in Washington begin to forget the former ambassador in less than 48 hours after his resignation.
“Do you think that this transition will be smooth?” asked a reporter at a State Department briefing. “We also have a strong relationship with Ms Rehman, so we expect it to be seamless,” said the department’s spokesman Mark Toner.
“What a difference a day makes,” commented one of Mr Haqqani’s admirers at the Pakistan Embassy. “Ms Rehman’s appointment was announced on Wednesday morning (Washington time) and by evening we were receiving phone calls about who she is, not about how and why Mr Haqqani was persuaded to leave.”
And this reflected at the State Department briefing as well where some reporters even questioned the wisdom of giving so much importance to an individual.
“Just as a practical thing, does it really matter who the Pakistani ambassador to the United States is?” asked a journalist. “I mean, you deal with the government, you don’t deal with individuals, correct?”
“You are right to say that we have multiple channels through which we communicate with the Pakistani government. But the ambassador here is an important interlocutor, as well,” responded the spokesman. “Yeah, but does it matter who it is?
Whether it’s him or whether it’s her?” the journalist asked. “We do have relationships with governments. Yeah, anyway, point taken. Go ahead,” Mr Toner said.
And the next question showed how the nature of discussion about a public figure changes after his or her departure.
“Was Ambassador Haqqani a dual citizen? I mean, he’s been here for a very long time,” asked another journalist. “You’ll have to ask him. I don’t believe so,” Mr Toner replied.
When another reporter raised his hand, Mr Toner asked: “Still on Pakistan?” “Yes, just a quick one,” the journalist said and then reminded him that on Tuesday, Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Mr Haqqani a friend of the US and said he would be missed here. “Do you share the sentiment?” the reporter asked.
“We did appreciate his strong support for US-Pakistan relations,” Mr Toner replied. “I also do want to note that we have appreciated Ambassador Haqqani’s strong support for US-Pakistan relations throughout his tenure.” Responding to another question, the US official revealed that Mr Haqqani had visited the State Department before going to Islamabad.
“He was indeed here, he did meet with officials here at the State Department before he returned to Islamabad. I’m not going to discuss the substance of that meeting,” Mr Toner said.
“We are aware of the government of Pakistan’s announcement that it intends to appoint Sherry Rehman as the new Pakistani Ambassador to the United States and we certainly look forward to working together with her as we continue to build a strong, cooperative relationship between our two countries,” he added.
The government of Pakistan, however, had not yet forwarded her name or Mr Haqqani’s resignation to the State Department, Mr Toner noted.
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