WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday acknowledged the impending change of guard at the Pakistani embassy in Washington as they praised deposed Ambassador Husain Haqqani for his services, and announced their anticipation of working with Pakistan's new Ambassador Sherry Rehman to continue strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries.
Spokesman Mark Toner said the State Department had not yet received formal notification from Pakistan about Haqqani's resignation and his replacement, but acknowledged Islamabad's appointment of democracy advocate Sherry Rehman as the new envoy.
"We certainly look forward to working together with her as we continue to build a strong, cooperative relationship between our two countries," Toner said.
"We have appreciated Ambassador Haqqani's strong support for US-Pakistan relations throughout his tenure."
Haqqani was forced to quit on Tuesday following claims he was allegedly behind a memo asking then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, admiral Mike Mullen, to help prevent a military coup after the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
The memo was revealed by US businessman Mansoor Ijaz in an opinion piece in Britain's Financial Times on October 10.
Haqqani has denied any wrongdoing, and his departure was seen as forced by the military with US-Pakistani relations as fraught as ever.
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@Cautious: It's a good thing we don't slap our ministers
Hope to see more people like Sherry in the govt. and the army.
The USA has shown respect and class for the former and future Pakistani Ambassador - it's called diplomacy something Pakistan has yet to master.
Gud for Sherry, Gudluck Zardari!
Best choice under the circumstances. No mullah or military general, thank God.
She seems to be very appropriate selection for this job.