Times of India
 

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Hina Rabbani Khar Appointed as New Foreign Minister...
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[B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="Blue"]ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's government has decided to appoint Hina Rabbani Khar, minister of state for foreign affairs, as full-time foreign minister to lead the country's delegation into the talks with India in New Delhi by the end of this month, official sources said.

The decision in this regard was taken by PM Yusuf Raza Gilani on Monday and sent a summary for Khar's appointment as the new foreign minister to President Asif Ali Zardari for a formal approval.

The slot of Pakistan's foreign minister was vacant since February 9 when the incumbent Shah Mahmood Qureshi was removed form the post for his stance over the diplomatic status of Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who killed two Pakistani nationals in Lahore.

In the absence of FM, the country's foreign secretary, Salman Bashir, had to defend Islamabad's embarrassing position when the world's top fugitive Osama bin Laden was detected and killed in a unilateral US raid in Pakistan's cantonment town of Abbottabad on May 2.

The move to elevate Hina Rabbani Khar as FM was made in the wake of upcoming India-Pakistan FM level talks, official sources said.

Khar, 34, was a member of national assembly of the PML-Q party during the military regime of Gen Pervez Musharraf and joined the ruling Pakistan People's Party ahead of the February 2008 general election.

She was appointed as minister of state for economic affairs by the current government in 2008. Four days after Qureshi's removal, she was appointed minister of state for foreign affairs. Like most of other Pakistani politicians, comes from a feudal background. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]