Pakistan PM appoints new ambassador to US

Nov 23, 2011 |

Islamabad

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Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday appointed lawmaker and former information minister Sherry Rehman as the country's new ambassador to the United States, an official said.

The appointment came just hours after Gilani asked envoy Husain Haqqani to resign as the government investigates claims that he sought US help, allegedly at the president's behest, to limit the power of the Pakistani military.

"The Prime Minister has appointed Sherry Rehman as Pakistan's ambassador to the US," his press secretary Akram Shaheedi told AFP.

He said Rehman met Gilani in Islamabad on Wednesday morning, without giving any further details.

Rehman, a lawmaker for the main ruling Pakistan People's Party and a confidante of President Asif Ali Zardari, is considered one of the most liberal politicians in the country.

Last year, she sparked fury among the conservative religious right by lodging a private member's bill seeking to abolish the death penalty for blasphemy after a Christian mother was sentenced to death.

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