Official use of 'Af-Pak' may stop!

The United States may officially stop using the term Af-Pak for Afghanistan and Pakistan to pacify Islamabad, which has for long opposed the bracketing of both countries together.

"Respecting sovereignty of Pakistan, the US respects Islamabad's right to review its policy," The Nation quoted a US Embassy spokesperson Mark Stroh, as saying. 

He pointing out that people are using the term Af-Pak as an abbreviation for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Stroh denied that the term Af-Pak aimed at undermining

either Pakistan's or Afghanistan's sovereignty, adding that the US had appointed a special envoy for the region to address issues. 

"We have full-fledged foreign missions working both in Pakistan and Afghanistan under bilateral framework," he added.

The US is believed to have stopped using the term 'Af-Pak' to denote its policy for the region since 2010 but the media and many analysts continue using it. 

The US policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan aims to target and defeat Al Qaeda's safe havens in the region.