Pakistan yesterday appointed a democracy activist who has faced militant death threats as its new ambassador to the US, moving quickly to replace the old envoy who resigned after upsetting the country’s powerful military in a scandal dubbed “memo-gate.”
Sherry Rehman will likely be well-received in Washington, though she will have a tough task representing Pakistan amid widespread suspicion in the US that nuclear-armed Pakistan is not a sincere ally in the fight against Islamist extremists.
Rehman is an important and respected player in Pakistan’s ruling party and a vocal proponent of civilian supremacy in the country. Her appointment was surprising to some observers, who had presumed the army, having ousted the last ambassador, would try to force its own candidate on the weak government.
Rehman’s appointment “suggests that the military has failed to assume complete control of Pak-US relations,” Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan director for Human Rights Watch, said on Twitter.
She was close to former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed by militants in 2007. Rehman has spoken up against the country’s blasphemy law, which is used to persecute Christians. Police warned her that she could be targeted by extremists, and she was under heavy guard for some time.
Rehman currently heads the Jinnah Institute, an organization she founded to “invest in policies that promote fundamental rights, tolerance and pluralism.”
Former envoy Husain Haqqani resigned from the post late on Tuesday amid allegations he engineered a memo to Washington asking for its help in reining in the military in exchange for a raft of pro-US policies. He has denied any connection to the memo.
Haqqani was summoned to Pakistan by the army after the scandal broke a few days ago. He had made no secret of his desire to try and wrest some of the power in Pakistan from the army to the civilian government, earning him the distrust of the army establishment.
Yesterday, he tweeted: “Ah! To wake up in my motherland, without the burden of conducting Pakistan’s most difficult external relationship.”
Haqqani met with Rehman later yesterday to discuss her new job, he wrote on Twitter, calling her a “dedicated democrat” and wishing her the best.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned