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Michael new head of US military office

Anwar Iqbal Published May 24, 2008
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WASHINGTON, May 23: The United States on Friday announced the appointment of a top commander to head its military office in Islamabad, recognising Pakistan’s objection to an earlier appointment of a controversial general but seems still reluctant to accept Pakistan’s strategy of seeking a negotiated settlement to militancy in the tribal belt.

Rear Admiral Michael Lefever is appointed in place of Maj-Gen Jay Hood, a former commander of the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Gen Hood’s tenure at Guantanamo was marred by a series of scandals and controversies, especially the alleged desecration of holy books.

Washington hopes that the gesture will be recognised in Pakistan as a sign of US willingness to accommodate Muslim sentiments on religious issues.

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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.

Anwar Iqbal

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