WASHINGTON, APRIL 29: The United States ambassador to Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlin, has been in Washington for some time, and is said to be looking at other diplomatic opportunities.

Reporting this on Monday, The Washington Post said Ambassador Chamberlin, who has two teenage daughters, was one of those most keenly affected by the State Department’s decision last month to evacuate all dependants of US embassy personnel in Pakistan. She is believed to have concluded that she does not want an indefinite separation from her daughters.

Ms Chamberlin assumed her post in Islamabad last summer, and has managed US-Pakistan relations in a turbulent period following the Sept 11 attacks.

Asked to comment on the report, a State Department official said Ambassador Chamberlin faced a genuine problem as a single mother of two daughters. Many other US staff in Pakistan were also having to cope with problems because of the decision.