Kashmir-born Farah Pandith, who was recently appointed the United States' Special Representative to the Muslim world by the Obama administration, has said that she is overwhelmed with the response from India, over her new job.
"I was actually very overwhelmed with the response in India. I really have to say that it was very special for me as somebody of Indian heritage," Pandith told the State Department on Wednesday.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had last week appointed Pandith for this first-of-its-kind position in the US government as part of President Barack Obama's effort to start a new beginning with the Muslim world and improve America's image among Islamic countries.
At her maiden press conference after being appointed for the post, Pandith said, "I was born in India and grew up in Massachusetts." India has the world's second largest Muslim population.
"I have had the experience of working in both the public and private sector. I was vice president of international business for a company outside Boston and had a chance to really think about the international marketplace, so to speak, from a lot of different perspectives," she said.
Since 2003, Pandith has worked in three different parts of the US government. "I was in the US Agency for International Development. I was at the National Security Council at the White House. For the last two years, I have been at the Department of State working in the Europe Bureau," she said, adding that in this role she had an opportunity to engage, through US embassies, with Muslims across Western Europe for two years.
Replying to a question, Pandith said as of now, she has no plans to travel to India along with the Secretary of State later this month.
On the job for less than a week, Pandith said, "I have to consult with my colleagues at the State Department to figure out the first few steps."
