Asia

Ex-Afghan VP: US envoy lobbying for Taliban

First Vice President of the previous Afghan administration, Amrullah Saleh, says former US representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad is "smilingly lobbying" for the Taliban movement and the Haqqani Network.

Saleh has urged the former leader of the country, Ashraf Ghani, to release the records of conversations with Khalilzad about the peace process.

Saleh wrote on Twitter that Khalilzad allegedly “smilingly lobbying” for the Taliban movement and the Haqqani Network.

The former vice president has accused Khalilzad of concealing “secret annexes” to the Doha agreement, which the US signed with the Taliban in 2020.

“I call on Ashraf Ghani to release the tapes (esp Jul/Aug) of the conversations with Khalilzad & other relevant foreign diplomats on peace process to counter the growing propaganda that it was & is all the Afghan fault. I know these tapes exist & hope you have them,” Saleh tweeted.

In July and August, Khalilzad participated in negotiations in various formats on the situation in Afghanistan. In particular, he called on the Taliban to stop their offensive in the country.

The Taliban intensified its offensive against Afghan government forces a month ago and entered Kabul on 15 August. On 31 August, the US military left the Kabul airport, bringing an end to the nearly twenty-year American military presence in Afghanistan.

On 7 September, the Taliban announced the composition of the interim government of Afghanistan. It is headed by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, who served as a foreign minister during the first Taliban rule. Akhund has been under UN sanctions since 2001.

Saleh had declared himself acting president after the Taliban takeover.

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