U.S. President Barack Obama has appointed two veteran diplomats to be the next ambassadors to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
A White House statement said Obama has named Richard Olson, a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, to serve in Pakistan.
The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, resigned in May, amid escalating tensions between Washington and Islamabad caused by the killing of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces in Pakistan in May 2011 and a botched U.S. airstrike which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last November.
The statement said that James Cunningham, the current deputy ambassador to Kabul, will replace Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who announced he was leaving for health reasons.
The new appointees are dues to serve as the United States prepares to withdraw combat forces from Afghanistan in 2014.
A White House statement said Obama has named Richard Olson, a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, to serve in Pakistan.
The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, resigned in May, amid escalating tensions between Washington and Islamabad caused by the killing of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces in Pakistan in May 2011 and a botched U.S. airstrike which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last November.
The statement said that James Cunningham, the current deputy ambassador to Kabul, will replace Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who announced he was leaving for health reasons.
The new appointees are dues to serve as the United States prepares to withdraw combat forces from Afghanistan in 2014.