Ayaz Gul VOA News September 15, 2021 ISLAMABAD – The U.S. peace envoy for Afghanistan says he secured a last-minute deal with the Taliban in mid-August to keep the insurgents outside Kabul while they negotiated a political transition. But, he says, President Ashraf Ghani’s decision to flee the country scuttled that plan. Afghan-born envoy Zalmay
Reuters: U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the veteran American diplomat relinquished leverage to the militant group, continuously undermined the Afghan government, and had little interest in hearing different viewpoints within the U.S. government. “How does he still have a job?”… Click here to read more (external link).
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 28, 2021 ISLAMABAD – The United States on Saturday hailed the Taliban’s commitment that no one will be prevented from traveling out of Afghanistan after August 31, the deadline President Joe Biden has set for all U.S. and NATO troops to exit the country. Zalmay Khalilzad, special U.S. envoy for
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi August 10, 2021 The United States scrambled to press for an Afghan peace deal and the European Union debated greater help in the region to handle refugee flows on August 10 as Taliban fighters continued to overrun at least two new population centers in the war-ravaged country. The moves came ahead of
VOA News August 3, 2021 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the American commitment to Afghanistan Tuesday during a call with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. According to State Department spokesman Ned Price, they discussed the need to “accelerate peace negotiations” and achieve an “inclusive” political settlement that allows the Afghan people to have a
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 2, 2021 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – The U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, says the United States remains committed to promoting a political settlement between warring Afghans, stressing that neither side to the conflict can win militarily. In an interview with VOA that comes as the United States works
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 3, 2021 The Pentagon says the turnover of Bagram Airfield to Afghan security forces was a “key milestone” in the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, but insisted the U.S. military still has the authority to protect Afghan forces. The comments from Defense Department spokesman John Kirby on July 2
Ayaz Gul VOA News May 20, 2021 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – Taliban insurgents have captured a district in eastern Afghanistan and negotiated a temporary truce with government forces in another, as U.S.-led foreign troops continue to withdraw from the country. Separately, a roadside bomb blast early Thursday killed at least nine civilians, including women and children,
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty May 19, 2021 U.S. lawmakers called for the thousands of allies in Afghanistan to be evacuated from the war-ravaged country before international troops pull out, fearing they could be “slaughtered by the Taliban.” However, the top U.S. envoy to Afghanistan on May 18 played down the dangers to those who worked
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty April 28, 2021 The U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan said U.S. aid to Afghanistan could be slashed if a Taliban-dominated government did not respect human rights, especially women’s rights. Zalmay Khalilzad said on April 27 the United States could leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid to the country