Khalilzad urges US to expand engagement with Afghanistan — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): Former US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has urged the United States to expand its engagement with Afghanistan, saying this would serve Washington’s geopolitical interests. Khalilzad also said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) had demonstrated greater-than-expected capability in areas including infrastructure development, agricultural support and regional diplomacy. In a post on X, Khalilzad said The National News of the United Arab Emirates had asked him three questions about Afghanistan five years after the IEA returned to power. The first question was what it would take to bring Afghanistan back into the international fold and improve ties with the US. Khalilzad said Afghanistan should first address US concerns over American citizens who remain in detention, describing the issue as an obstacle that needed to be removed. He also called on Washington to increase and broaden its engagement with Afghanistan in pursuit of its own geopolitical interests. “Turning our backs on Afghanistan and limiting engagement to a minimum is, at best, a mistake for many reasons. It creates a vacuum in a strategically important location that our adversaries are only too happy to fill. It gives opportunities to terrorists. And it hurts ordinary Afghans, who have suffered enough from decades of chaos and turmoil and need normalcy and peace more than anything else,” he wrote. Asked about…