KARACHI: Pakistan’s newly appointed foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, is young in a culture than reveres the old, female in a society that favours men and her appointment comes just days before Pakistan’s latest round of talks with arch-rival India.
Khar, 34, was appointed yesterday after serving as junior foreign minister for five months. Previously, she was the Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Statistics.
”This will not be an easy ride because of the complex issues being faced by Pakistan and the way the foreign policy is formulated within the country, where there are many influence groups which she will have to work with,” said Shaukat Tarin, who served as Pakistan’s finance minister when Khar was minister of state for finance and economic affairs said.
”This will really test her maturity.”
India and Pakistan are due to hold foreign minister level talks in Delhi in late July, and Khar is going to face new scrutiny despite holding the post unofficially over the last five months.
Talks were broken off in 2008 after India blamed Pakistan-based militants for attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people. Talks were restarted earlier this year. (PTI)