WASHINGTON (CN) - President Obama has ordered the State Department to create a Pakistan and Afghanistan Support Office to organize U.S. efforts to strengthen the capacity of the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to resist extremist elements in their countries.
In his order, the president said that the main purpose of the office is to "enhance civilian control and stable constitutional government in Pakistan" and to "promote a more capable, accountable and effective government in Afghanistan."
Pakistan has faced an escalating series of suicide bombings and attacks against its government from fundamentalist Islamic terrorists, and, in Afghanistan, security and development have been hampered by widespread reports of corruption and lack of accountability in the national government.
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