Biden administration keeping Zalmay Khalilzad as US negotiator with Taliban
Zalmay Khalilzad, who brokered the peace deal with Afghanistan’s Taliban, has been asked to continue his ‘vital work’
- US President Joe Biden asks Zalmay Khalilzad to stay on as special envoy to Afghanistan
- Khalilzad asked to continue his "vital work" says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
- Khalilzad is a political scientist born in Afghanistan
The United States has decided to retain Zalmay Khalilzad as the US special envoy to Afghanistan.
He has been asked to stay in his post under US President Joe Biden.
“We’ve asked him to continue the vital work that he’s performing,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his first news conference since taking office.
Read more: What does Joe Biden’s pick for defense secretary mean for Afghanistan?
Khalilzad, a political scientist born in Afghanistan, is a veteran of Republican administrations who served as US ambassador to the United Nations, Iraq and Afghanistan under former President George W Bush.
He brokered a deal with Afghanistan’s Taliban.