Alumna to be Pakistan's new Foreign Minister
Hina Rabbani Khar ’02 MS, a UMass Amherst Hospitality and Tourism Management alumna, is expected to be named Pakistan’s new Foreign Minister. She would be the first woman to hold the position in Pakistan’s history.
Khar, who is receiving international praise for her views on foreign affairs and economic development, was only appointed to a junior minister position this past February. Prior to accepting this role, Khar was a restaurateur in Lahore, Pakistan.
If appointed, Khar, a member of the National Assembly from the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, will lead the crucial peace talks with India slated for later his month in New Dehli. India-Pakistan relations have been strained since the violent partition of British India in 1947, resulting in numerous territorial disputes and major wars in 1965, 1971 and 1999.
A central conflict remains authority over the Kashmir region, of which one third of the territory is administered by Pakistan and the remainder by India. Khar expressed her support of the Kashmir people’s struggle for freedom and a peaceful settlement to the dispute at a recent Organization of the Islamic Council of Ministers meeting. With both countries possessing nuclear weapons, energizing this peace process has global significance.
Khar also participated in delegate-level talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton following the death of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan in May. According to the BBC, Clinton found no evidence that the Pakistani senior administration knew of Bin Laden’s presence in the country. Clinton met with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and administration delegates to further reinforce their shared goal of suppressing global terror.