MONITORING (SW) – US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconstruction has said negotiated settlement is only path to sustainable stability in Afghanistan
Zalmay Khalilzad defended the Biden Administration’s exit strategy while briefing the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee.
He said Washington and its allies will sanction the Taliban if they pursue a military takeover of Afghanistan. In his testimony the seasoned diplomat of Afghanistan origin the US will renew commitment to a results-focused peace process between the Afghan government and the Taliban. “It has been evident now for years that there is no military solution to a conflict in Afghanistan that has now gone on for over 40 years. A negotiated settlement within the country itself, supported by the regional powers, is the only path to sustainable stability”, he said.
The US envoy said Afghan themselves – leaders and influential personages on all sides – must know that as responsible national figures, they should craft a joint way forward instead of jockeying for individual or group power. “It is incumbent on all leaders in Afghanistan – those who’ve had the privilege to be educated, the business-minded, the young people who make up over 60% of the population, the farmers – all need to focus on rebuilding a stable post-war economy. And the region and the world need to stay engaged with advice and assistance”, he stressed.
Khalilzas also underlined Pakistan’s role in supporting peace. “We have urged Pakistan’s leaders to exercise their considerable leverage over the Taliban to reduce violence and support a negotiated settlement”, he said, adding Pakistan’s leaders have emphasized publicly and to U.S. officials that they do not support a military takeover by the Taliban. “I believe they understand that not only Afghanistan, but their country too will face grave consequences in the event of a return to a wider civil war”.
Hours before his speech, the State Department advised US citizens “wishing to depart Afghanistan should leave as soon as possible” and ordered non-essential US embassy workers to leave the country, saying “travel to all areas of Afghanistan is unsafe”.
ENDS
