Outreach: US Ambassador attends Quetta jirga

Jirga convened by Nawab Ayaz Jogezai, Pashtun leader and convener of one of the largest Pashtun jirgas in the country.

QUETTA: Cameron Munter, the US ambassador to Pakistan, attended a jirga of 16 Pashtun leaders in Quetta on Friday, as part of his first visit to Balochistan.

The jirga was convened by Nawab Ayaz Jogezai, a Pashtun leader and convener of one of the largest Pashtun jirgas in the country.

The ambassador has been visiting the provincial capital as part of the US government’s effort to directly engage with various segments of civil society in Pakistan.

A US embassy press release, however, did not specify what issues came under discussion at the jirga, saying only that “issues of mutual interest, including economic development and security” were discussed.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2011.