Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. Special Representative for Afghan Peace, has recently stated that the Doha Agreement had no connection to human rights and was related to conditions for the safe withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Last day (Thursday, October 5), in response to a draft resolution by the U.S. Congress that condemns President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other senior U.S. officials, including himself, regarding the “disastrous withdrawal” from Afghanistan, Khalilzad mentioned that the current Afghan government had agreed to “form a new government for Afghanistan,” and that human rights policies would likely be negotiated separately between them and other Afghan citizens.
He wrote on his X account that some of these negotiations took place; however, no agreement was reached before the completion of the U.S. troop withdrawal from the country.
He rejected part of the draft resolution that stated, “Khalilzad claimed without reason that the current government is fulfilling its commitments and respecting basic human rights.”
Zalmay Khalilzad stated: “This claim is completely false. I have never made such a statement. I am surprised that such an allegation is made without evidence and is so-called baseless.”
The former U.S. special envoy for Afghan peace further added: “I have never made a statement regarding the Taliban and their commitments concerning human rights. In my appearances before various congressional committees, whenever I was asked whether I trust the Taliban to fulfill their commitments regarding military issues and terrorism, my answer has always been that we are talking about international relations, an area where no one can be trusted, especially the Taliban.”
He continued by stating that the agreement was based on conditions as negotiated, not on trust. The fulfillment of U.S. commitments in the agreement was linked to the interim government’s commitments, which needed to be continuously evaluated and verified.
It is worth noting that the agreement included provisions against attacks on U.S. forces and preventing “terrorist” groups or individuals, including Al-Qaeda, from using Afghan territory to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.
Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, presented a draft resolution to Congress condemning former and current senior U.S. officials regarding the “disastrous” withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.
