US says Zalmay Khalilzad does not represent its foreign policy, Biden administration

The US has clarified that former US envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad does not speak for the administration of President Joe Biden in light of recent comments he made on Pakistan.

During a press briefing, US State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel was asked about a recent statement regarding the political situation in Pakistan made by Khalilzad, who served as the special envoy for Afghan reconciliation under both the Trump and Biden administrations.

“Mr Khalilzad is a private citizen, and any social media activity or comments or tweets that you might reference, those are done in his private capacity, does not represent US foreign policy, and he does not speak for this administration,” Patel replied.

Zalmay warns govt of ‘triple crisis’ if ‘tough’ steps taken against IK

Earlier this month, Khalilzad said that Pakistan was “underperforming and falling far behind” India. In a tweet, he said, “the sequential cannibalizing of its leaders through jailing, execution, assassination, etc. is the wrong path. Arresting Imran Khan will only deepen the crisis”.

He proposed “two steps” to deal with the challenges, the first being to set a date for general elections in early June to “avert a meltdown”.

Regarding the political crisis in Pakistan, Patel said any implication of violence, harassment or intimidation had no place in politics.

“As we do with our partners all around the world, we encourage all sides in Pakistan to respect the rule of law and allow the people of Pakistan to democratically determine their own country’s leadership pursuant to their own Constitution and laws.”

FO rebukes Khalilzad’s stance

Following the former US envoy’s remarks, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch had said: “Pakistan does not need lectures or unsolicited advice from anyone on how to cope with the challenges we face today.”

“As a resilient nation, we will come out stronger from the present difficult situation”.