Khalilzad: The first steps towards an agreement with the Taliban were taken during the Obama administration

Bayan News – Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. representative for Afghanistan, has stated that the initial steps for negotiations with the Taliban were taken during the Obama administration, the former President of the United States.

Khalilzad’s testimony was published on Wednesday, May 1st, through the platform of the U.S. Congress Foreign Relations Committee. The testimony states that the government had to consider options regarding the Doha Agreement: not insisting on conditional agreements, emphasizing the withdrawal and the fight against terrorism, breaking the Doha Agreement, and ultimately accepting a conditional agreement in Doha.

The former U.S. official still maintains that the Biden administration did not choose the option of a conditional withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan, while the option of accepting a conditional Doha agreement was proposed to Biden.

Khalilzad, the former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, said that the White House and the National Security Council were leading the complete process of force withdrawal in 2021, and important decisions regarding interaction with the Taliban were made by the Biden National Security Council during August when the deadly withdrawal occurred.

According to a document released by the U.S. Congress Foreign Relations Committee, Khalilzad pressed for the release of thousands of Taliban prisoners during the summer of 2020, arguing that the Taliban would not engage in negotiations with the Afghan government without the release of their prisoners.

Khalilzad said that he and the Secretary of State and others were in agreement on this matter. He added that before the intra-Afghan negotiations began, the Taliban demanded certain confidence-building measures.

The U.S. Special Representative stated that the Afghan government was not opposed to the principle of prisoner release but objected to the large number of releases. He said that the previous Afghan government wanted an equal number of prisoners to be exchanged between the two sides.

Zalmay Khalilzad, in response to questions from the U.S. Congress Foreign Relations Committee, stated that President Biden’s announcement of a complete withdrawal in April 2021 had a negative impact on the morale of the Afghan government forces.

Khalilzad said, “The withdrawal had a psychological impact and had a negative impact on the relative balance of power for the government (of Afghanistan). It is clear.”

Mr. Khalilzad also admitted that the U.S. State Department lacked planning for Afghanistan.

In Khalilzad’s testimony, his statements questioning the presence of Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent were brought into question. According to a document released by the U.S. Congress Foreign Relations Committee, despite Khalilzad’s claim, there is evidence of Al-Qaeda’s presence in the Indian subcontinent.

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