The Kabul Tribune (KT)— The U.S. State Department has said that Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, is not a government employee and does not represent the United States in his contacts with Taliban officials, Afghanistan International reported.
A State Department spokesperson told Afghanistan
International that Khalilzad's activities are being carried out in a personal
capacity.
Khalilzad traveled to Kabul in recent days and met with
senior Taliban officials, including Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
The Taliban Foreign Ministry previously said Khalilzad
discussed relations between the United States and the Taliban with Muttaqi.
Khalilzad also appeared Monday alongside Abdul Ghani
Baradar, the Taliban administration's deputy prime minister for economic
affairs, at a ceremony for the signing of an oil and gas contract for the
Kushk-Tirpul basin in Herat with a Saudi company.
The State Department's comments came after Khalilzad's
meetings with Taliban officials in Kabul drew attention to his continuing
contacts with the group.
