Zalmay Khalilzad’s struggle for relevance
ZALMAY Khalilzad is a diplomat and politician who has been involved in international relations, particularly in relation to Afghanistan and the Middle East. He has served in various roles within the US government, including as American Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the UN. For the last few months, he has been active on political front by commenting on political situation of different countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. Regarding Pakistan, he is tweeting in favor of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. It is worth mentioning that Zalmay Khalilzad was active member of former US President Trump’s administration. During Trump Presidency, US started peace talks with Afghan Taliban and Zalmay Khalilzad was the leading figure in that entire process.
For the last few weeks, Khalilzad has been commenting on Pakistan’s political situation. He asserted that instability in Pakistan could destabilize the entire region and lead to war, while explaining why he is interested in recent developments in the country. Khalilzad, who negotiated a US deal with the Taliban that led to withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan, has recently posted a series of tweets on the situation in Pakistan. In those tweets, he urged Pakistani politicians and the establishment not to allow the situation to get out of hand and resolve their differences through talks. His tweets didn’t come well with Pakistanis.
Journalist Mohammed Hanif in his talk with a US television raised concerns over the interest of Zalmay Khalilzad in Pakistani politics and his open support to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, while he is facing judicial proceedings in different cases. Khalilzad, an enigmatic former diplomat is also called butcher of Iraq by Arab academicians and media. He had been involved to try dismantling Iraq into several parts and 20-year bombing of Afghanistan and other US failed experiments during War on Terror. In Afghan peace talks, he totally sidelines elected government of Ashraf Ghani and held direct talks with Afghan Taliban, which strengthened insurgents’ policy against Ghani government that had collapsed after abrupt US pullout from Afghanistan. Various Afghan political factions such as Abdullah Abdullah and Hamid Karzai criticized Khalilzad while holding him responsible for chaos and civil war-like situation in Afghanistan.
Mohammed Hanif who worked as an editor for BBC and is a veteran journalist from Pakistan, in his interview, argued that it was scary in the last few weeks as there is Zalmay Khalilzad who first tried to liberate Iraq and then Afghanistan, and what happened there and now he is tweeting about Pakistan. In his Twitter message, Khalilzad is advising Pakistan to free its citizens and urged the Pakistani government not to touch Imran Khan. Its kind of very strange that Khalilzad is supporting particular political party and individual like Imran Khan who openly accused the US of orchestrating his ouster from power. His support for Imran Khan made the things suspicious. It is important to note that the PTI has engaged lobbying firms in the US after which a number of Congressmen and other influential figures have spoken in favour of Imran Khan.
The majority of foreign affairs experts and defence analysts have believed that Zalmay Khalilzad always pursues a special political agenda and he is one-man responsible for the chaos and destruction raging across Afghanistan. Foreign affairs experts like Kamal Alam, a non-resident senior fellow at Atlantic Council, demanded the trial of Zalmay Khalilzad in Iraq as well as Afghanistan to unearth his alleged corruption and his alleged senseless decisions that resulted in the killing of thousands of Iraqi and Afghani citizens. In 2014, Khalilzad’s finances were subject to an Austrian investigation that froze his wife’s accounts in European country based on information from US Department of Justice that he was suspected of money laundering related to business activities in Iraq and the UAE.
Likewise, Biden Administration has categorically disowned Zalmay Khalilzad’s support for Imran Khan. In March, responding to Khalilzad’s controversial comments on social media, US State Department had made it clear that Zalmay Khalilzaddidn’t represent US foreign policy. However, it still matters a lot because of his inclination towards senior Republican leadership. Previously, Pakistan’s Foreign Office even warned former US Ambassador Khalilzad not to comment on Islamabad’s internal political affairs. However, Zalmay Khalilzad continues to double down on his commentary on the recent political situation in Pakistan while often cautioning the Pakistan government.
The series of statements given by Khalilzad is seen as a result of lobbying by PTI in Washington. The party reportedly hired a lobbying firm in February to restore its ties with the US. Khalilzad developed close ties with the government of then Premier Imran when he was president Trump’s point man on Afghanistan. Reportedly, Khalilzad played a key role in bringing Imran and Trump close on Afghanistan. Regarding what is happening in Pakistan, Khalilzad should stay away from lecturing Pakistan on political front. He must and should stay away from supporting any particular individual and political party in Pakistan. What is happening in Pakistan is Islamabad’s domestic political matters. No one has the authority to comment on Pakistan’s internal situation.
—The Islamabad-based writer is expert in Indian political affairs.
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