WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to name Zalmay Khalilzad as a special envoy to Afghanistan, according to a senior US official and another source familiar with the matter.
The 67-year-old Khalilzad, who is Afghan-born, served as a foreign policy adviser to multiple administrations and held several diplomatic posts under President George W. Bush’s administration.
Khalilzad is a diplomatic veteran, having served as a US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations. He is close to all of the players, knows the region well and is known by the Afghans.
Pompeo’s expected choice of Khalilzad comes as the United States looks to make headway in its longstanding campaign against the Taliban.
Alice Wells, a senior State Department official, met for discussions with Taliban officials last month in Doha.
On the other hand, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offered a month-long ceasefire with the Taliban last week, a move that was supported by Pompeo.
The decision to tap Khalilzad, a Republican and foreign policy veteran, follows a reported meeting last month between a U.S. diplomat and Taliban officials to explore possible negotiations.
The two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were unsure when the announcement would be made. The White House and the State Department declined to comment, and Khalilzad did not return messages left with his office.
Khalilzad, 67, is well suited to the difficult task of persuading the insurgents to talk, according to a former senior US official, who asked not to be further identified.
In addition to his experience advising or working for four US administrations and his knowledge of Afghanistan’s main languages, culture and politics, he is from the ethnic Pashtun majority and is close to Ghani, the former official said.
Pompeo’s decision to tap Khalilzad shows the administration is “serious about getting a peace process going,” said the former official.
In a possible wrinkle, the Taliban said on Wednesday it would send senior members to Russia for peace talks on Afghanistan, hours after the Afghan government declined the offer to attend. Washington has also said it would not go.
Khalilzad served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005, and he helped draft the country’s constitution. He went on to be ambassador to Iraq and then U.S. envoy to the United Nations.
