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| Farah not only Kashmiri in US State Department | | |
New Delhi, June 27: Farah Pandith, who was appointed US Special Representative to reach out to the Muslim world, is not the only Kashmiri woman to occupy a coveted position in the State Department. Another Kashmiri Muslim woman, Afeefa Sayeed, was involved in writing US President Barack Obama's ''new beginning'' speech, which he later gave at Cairo University. Both women have their origins in the South Kashmir town of Sopore which is the bastion of hardline Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and is known to be pro-Pakistan. While Farah's family lives in Arampora locality of Sopore, Afeefa's family lived in Nowhamam area.
Afeefa's father headed the department of Kashmiri and Central Asian Studies at Kashmir University and migrated to the US in 1973. Farah's father had migrated to the US in 1969.
Afeefa, a senior advisor in the USAID, the US Agency for International Development, is married to an Iraqi Kurd while Farah is unmarried.
While appointing Farah, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Farah and her staff would engage with Muslims around the world on a people-to-people and organisational level. Farah has earlier served on the National Security Council as the coordinator for US policy on outreach to Muslims. Announcing Farah's appointment, Ms Hillary Clinton said ''Farah brings years of experience to the job...Farah will play a leading role in the US efforts to engage Muslims around the world.''
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