8am: “Mr. Khalilzad considers Dr. Ghani’s obstinacy to maintain power as the main obstacle to his so-called peace,” Dr. Spanta, former national security adviser to Hamid Karzai, tweeted on Friday, October 29. “Ghani’s madness in maintaining his illegitimate power and his hostility to peace and the rule of law was evident. But Mr. Khalilzad, weren’t
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News October 27, 2021 ISLAMABAD — Zalmay Khalilzad, the senior U.S. official who led the negotiations with the Taliban, blamed, for the most part, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s “intransigence,” the Afghan elite’s “selfishness” and Afghan soldiers’ lack of will to fight for the rapid Taliban military takeover of the country in August. “We
Tolo News: Talking to CBS News, Khalilzad said the US military tried many times to strengthen its position on the battleground, but it failed. “The negotiation was a result of–based on the judgment that we weren’t winning the war and therefore time was not on our side and better to make a deal sooner than
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 18, 2021 WASHINGTON — Zalmay Khalilzad, the top U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, is stepping down from his long-standing role following the Western military pullout from that war-ravaged country, the State Department says. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on October 18 said Khalilzad, who led U.S. negotiators in talks with the
Ariana: Had Ghani however resigned in order to bring peace to Afghanistan, and allowed the establishment of a new government, “it could have been a historic step”. “The name of the president could have been written in gold in the history of Afghanistan,” he said, adding that only Ghani can answer the question on why
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