Taking forward the Barack Obama administrations vision to engage more with the Muslims, the Indian-origin US special representative to Muslim communities Farah Anwar Pandith will arrive in New Delhi on Monday. This will be her first visit to India after her appointment last year. Pandith,whose family migrated to the US from Srinagar in the late 1960s,is expected to interact with senior government functionaries as well as members of the civil society and community leaders during her two-day visit. She,however,will not visit Kashmir,where she was born. The 43-year-old official,who is known for possessing an in-depth knowledge about Islamic civilisations,was appointed special representative to assist Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as part of the Obama administrations attempt to reach out to the Muslim world and change the perception of the US as anti-Islam. In many ways,this visit will be a sort of homecoming for Pandith,who still maintains strong links with Kashmir. Before her appointment as special representative,she has spoken on the issue of militancy in Kashmir at several international and domestic forums. In fact,she had visited Kashmir in the mid-90s months after two of her relatives were killed one by terrorists and the other in a firing at the funeral procession of her slain cousin and interacted with militants and government officials while pursuing her Masters degree at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
