Washington to have Kashmir Specialist

US Embassy In New Delhi Seeks Expert Fully Conversant In Indo-Pak Relations, India’s Kashmir Policy

In a significant development the US Embassy at New Delhi is appointing a “political specialist” on Kashmir to keep the envoys updated on developments in the region.

This is for the first time that the US Embassy is appointing an expert on Kashmir “who shall be fully conversant in the major issues affecting Indo-Pak relations and India’s policy in Kashmir.”

“The US Embassy in New Delhi is seeking an individual for the position of Political Specialist in the Political Section,” reads a notice (Vacancy Announcement Number: 12-006) issued by the Embassy.

“The appointee will be responsible for Internal Unit’s Kashmir account and will be recognized expert on this portfolio, and American officers shall be placing substantial reliance on his/her professional judgment and acumen in advising them on a variety of important and sensitive matters,” reads the notice.

(He/she) will be responsible for canvassing Indian opinion (in Delhi as well as in Jammu and Kashmir) on important events, affecting his portfolio, analyzing the information obtained and summarizing it to the American officer.

The embassy has invited that the applicant must be fully conversant in the major issues affecting Indo-Pak relations and India’s policy in Kashmir, and be able to provide the historical context, current developments and trends regarding “this portfolio” to both senior US and Indian audiences.

The appointee will be required to regularly brief Embassy staff and visiting (US) officials on complex events and trends in his portfolio, including assessing their political impact on US interests.

Besides, he/she will be responsible for maintaining a large contact base on Indo-Pak and Kashmir issues.

For any visiting officials from US to Kashmir the appointee will require to make logistical arrangements and accompany American officers and visiting officials on travel to Jammu and Kashmir.

“Drawing on his extensive contact network in that state, and mindful of the serious security constraints there, the incumbent has independent responsibility for drawing up a schedule of meetings with key political and security officials, as well as human rights activists, academics and journalists,” the notice reads. Besides the appointee would also require providing back-up support to the LES (sic) covering different aspects including US-India relations, nonproliferation, foreign policy decision-making and India’s relations with Russia and China.

United States has always ruled out any kind of meditation between India and Pakistan on all the outstanding issues between two countries including Kashmir. However, Washington has maintained that it was ready to play the role of a facilitator in any kind of positive engagement between the two countries on Kashmir.

On its part India has successfully managed to make US restrict its policy in south Asia to Pakistan and Afghanistan when it appointed late Richard Halbrooke as its envoy to the region. After Halbrooke's death Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had revealed that he (Halbrooke) was in touch with them over Kashmir.

A senior official at US Embassy at New Delhi Rajan Bhatacharya said he was not authorized to speak on the issue.

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