In an apparent reshuffling of its top staff for Southeast Asia, the State Department’s top official for Pakistan and Afghanistan was dismissed Friday, leaving uncertain who was handling affairs in that sensitive region.
The State Department confirmed that Laurel Miller, the acting special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, had her last day on Friday. The dismissal appeared to be part of an effort consolidate some department offices. However on late Friday department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had not determined where to shift Miller’s responsibilities.
The move comes at the same time that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has been tasked to review policy in that region in order to stem the growth of the Islamic State, the Taliban and other Muslim extremist groups. Mattis is mulling sending 4,000 troops to the region, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Miller’s “special representative” post was created by former President Barack Obama in 2009. It has been criticized as redundant since the State Department also has a Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Trump’s proposed budget calls for a 32 percent cut in department funding.
