Pakistan asked not to send Grossman, says US

E-Paper | June 14, 2026

Washington's special envoy to Islamabad Marc Grossman. The Washington Post reported earlier Tuesday that Pakistan had turned down a US request for Amb. Grossman to visit Islamabad during his current trip to the region that started this week.. - File Photo

WASHINGTON: The US State Department confirmed on Tuesday that Pakistan had asked Washington not to send its special envoy Marc Grossman to Islamabad for consultation on exploratory talks with the Taliban.

The confirmation of Islamabad's refusal to welcome Mr Grossman comes hours before Pakistan's new ambassador, Sherry Rehman, meets US President Barak Obama to present her credentials.

The Washington Post reported earlier Tuesday that Pakistan had turned down a US request for Ambassador Grossman to visit Islamabad during his current trip to the region that started this week. Mr Grossman is consulting US allies in the greater Middle East region on a move to involve the Taliban in the Afghan reconciliation process.

The development indicates further deterioration in a relationship which has continued to decline at a regular pace since the May 2 US raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad. The decline became rapid after the November 26 NATO raid on a Pakistani military post that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

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Anwar Iqbal is the Washington correspondent for Dawn. During a long journalism career, he has interviewed world leaders and cultural icons, including US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, poets Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Josh Malihabadi, Bacha Khan, Nobel laureate Abdus Salam, and humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi.

N. Khan

Jan 18, 2012 01:32am

If it is a rational, principled stance that can be explained to the world community, then it has to be welcomed. Pakistan has to place its interests first and foremost.

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S.Hayat

Jan 18, 2012 02:18am

Wise decision at a time when Pakistan has so many problems of its own at hand to resolve , Timing is suspicous when Ijaz Mansoor is also planning and PM has to appear before SC.

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Nadia Naeem

Jan 18, 2012 05:18am

Thank God Pakistan is seeing sense. Pakistan should disengage from America once and for all.

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Nadeem Shah

Jan 18, 2012 06:25am

I support my governments stance, we should keep a distance from anything to do with Afghanistan as we seem to get blamed for it all the time. I wish we could just build a huge fence between Pakistan and Afghanistan and mine it and be done with it, I would not like to see a single Afghani cross over. Let the world deal with Afghanistan, Pakistan should never get involved with Afghanistan, it is nothing but an eternal pit of troubles.

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Nafees Mahmood

Jan 18, 2012 06:33am

Pakistan should not detach itself from the reconciliation process.

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Ajaz Haque

Jan 18, 2012 06:51am

Pakistan made the right decision in not allowing Grossman into Pakistan. In the absence an unconditional apology for killing 24 Pakistani soldiers at border posts in unprovoked attacks, U.S. cannot pretend business as usual. NO APOLOGY, NO COOPERATION.

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