Clinton’s Saeed statement prompted Munter to quit

American Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter suddenly decided to quit his job after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai carnage and said the US was prepared to work with India to bring Hafiz Saeed to justice.
Diplomatic sources told INP on Wednesday that after the announcement of $10 million bounty on Hafiz Saeed by the US government, some circles arranged a secret meeting between Hafiz Saeed and Cameron Munter. According to sources, Hafiz Saeed presented solid evidence to Munter to show that he had no link to the Mumbai carnage.
The sources further claimed that Munter sent a detailed report to the State Department in this regard and informed it about the detailed viewpoint of Hafiz Saeed about the Mumbai attacks. However, the State Department made it clear upon Munter that it would not be responsible for any assurance given by him to the JuD chief.
According to sources, Hafiz Saeed came out openly in the public only after the assurances given by Munter. The sources said Munter had made up his mind to quit his job soon after the State Department refused to be responsible for any promise made by him to Hafiz Saeed.
However, the sources added Munter wasted no time and immediately informed the State Department about his decision to quit after Clinton said during her visit to India that the US was prepared to work with New Delhi to bring the JuD chief to justice.
Clinton’s announcement was aimed to appease India to make it accept its demand to discard Iranian oil imports.
The US State administration, meanwhile, confirmed that Ambassador Munter had decided to leave his post. Addressing a briefing at the State Department , deputy spokesman Mark Toner confirmed that Munter had decided to leave his post this year prematurely.
Toner said that Ambassador Munter had “made the personal decision to depart Pakistan this summer” and announced his decision in a staff meeting at the US Embassy in Islamabad on Monday. He, however, played down the significance of Ambassador Munter s premature departure and called it a normal tenure for ambassadors in the country.
“This is at the conclusion of his tenure at the end of two years, which is a perfectly normal period for an ambassador to Pakistan,” the deputy spokesman emphasised while hailing the contribution of Ambassador Munter in the job, considered by many as one of the toughest in recent years considering the tense nature of bilateral relationship between Pakistan and the US.