Khalilzad defends peace opportunities in Afghanistan as violence escalates New conflicts

US Special Envoy for Taliban Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad says peace is still possible in Afghanistan in the US the rest of the troops began to withdraw and violence is on the rise in the country.

Khalilzad told Congress on Tuesday that the State Department had advised U.S. citizens to “get rid of Afghanistan as soon as possible.”

The messenger said it does not make sense to keep U.S. forces in Afghanistan because the conflict cannot be resolved by continuing to fight.

“The choice that Afghans have is between a negotiated political solution or a long war,” Khalilzad told skeptical U.S. lawmakers in Congress.

“That opportunity is once again facing them and is in their hands,” Khalilzad said in his first public testimony since President Joe Biden announced the decision. withdraw all US forces by Sept. 11, the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan prompted the 20th anniversary of Al Qaeda’s attacks in New York and Washington.

The U.S. has about 3,500 troops in Afghanistan, about 7,000 NATO forces and about 16,000 contractors. Khalilzad said the agreement he signed with the Taliban last year includes an agreement to withdraw U.S. contractors to assist Afghan forces at the same time as U.S. troops are leaving. Khalilzad said the U.S. is helping the Kabul government find contractors to replace outgoing Americans.

Biden has pledged to continue to provide financial support to the U.S. government in Kabul and its military and police forces — it seems to be about 300,000 — but that number is believed to be lower.

Khalilzad said he was threatened with terrorism in the 2001 bombings now it moved to other regions.

Khalilzad led 18-19 months of talks between the US and the Taliban in 2018-19, which led to a withdrawal agreement. It was also necessary to pave the way for direct talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government in order to achieve a viable peace process, but none has emerged after a year of repeated talks.

The Afghan peace conference in Turkey has been postponed this month because the Taliban did not attend. Foreign ministers in Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday called on the Taliban to reaffirm their commitment to end negotiations and violence.

Leading members of Congress have offered mixed reactions to Biden’s announcement, and Senate leaders said Tuesday that they are concerned that Biden is pushing for a U.S. withdrawal.

“It’s very important how we retire and what political arrangements we have left,” said Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat who has criticized the Biden administration for handling the decision.

“If the Taliban were to return to power, the reality of Afghan women and girls would be devastating,” Menendez said.

When they ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001, the Taliban banned girls ’education and largely excluded women from work and public life.

Khalilzad said the future support of a Taliban government would be conditional. “If they want US support, they want international recognition … All of these things will affect how they treat their citizens, especially Afghan women, children and minorities,” he told senators.

Senator Jim Risch, a senior Republican, said the U.S. military should continue with the U.S.-backed gains in Afghanistan only.

An Afghan National Army soldier is on guard at a checkpoint while people were riding a motorcycle on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 21, 2021 [Mohammad Ismail, Reuters]

“I am deeply concerned about the administration’s rush for exits from Afghanistan,” Risch said.

“I hope I’m wrong, but I’m concerned about the administration’s decisions it may be a Taliban offensive which oppresses the government, ”he said.

“I don’t think the government will fall or be taken over by the Taliban,” Khalilzad said.

Biden said the withdrawal is not based on conditions, which is that what is happening in Afghanistan will go ahead.

The 2019 agreement signed by Khalilzad with the Taliban specified that the group would break all ties with Al Qaeda, while the United Nations said the two organizations have a close relationship, which the Taliban deny.

Under the agreement, all foreign forces, including U.S. troops and contractors, will withdraw from Afghanistan by May 1 if the Taliban comply with part of the agreement. On April 14, Biden extended that period until September.