Experts on Pakistan-US relations believe the exit of the US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Marc Grossman had made absolutely no impact on the efforts for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, rather Grossman could do little to even improve ties between Islamabad and Washington during his tenure.
“Prior to the appointment of Grossman, the US had launched efforts to reconcile with the Taliban. Richard Holbrooke had contributed in this regard to some extent but Grossman could not further the case,” noted analysts Hassan Askari Rizvi said. He said the only achievement of Grossman was improving US-Afghanistan relations. “Under Grossman, the Afghanistan-US relationship improved and some agreements between the two countries were signed. But Grossman could not make any contribution towards peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan,” he added. Rizvi said soon after the May 2 incident, relations between Pakistan and the US had strained. “Grossman made no significant contribution in improving relations between the two countries despite the fact that there was a dire need for his reconciliatory role after the Abbottabad raid,” Rizvi added.
With President Obama being re-elected, the departure of Grossman could help him select a new team for the AfPak region. “Obama is all set to bring a new team. A new secretary of state is going to takeover and a new chief of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) will be chosen; a new special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan might help the effort,” he maintained. General (r) Talat Masood said though policies of state did not change even with the change of regimes, Obama’s re-election may open a window for review of his previous policies. “Whenever a new administration takes over or a president is re-elected to office, a review of previous policies takes place though no major change is expected. So a new set up is likely in the US administration soon and the exit of Grossman may be a part of that change,” he added.
Commenting on the impact Grossman had on improvement of Pak-US relations, Masood said Grossman had not been “impressive”. Meanwhile, Ambassador to US Sherry Rehman said on Thursday that Marc Grossman would be “dearly missed” at the Pakistan embassy.
“His professionalism, dedication, integrity, and commitment to improving Pakistan-US ties at all times will be remembered not just by us, but by both countries,” she added.