NEW DELHI: Questions surround Zalmay Khalilzad, an enigmatic diplomat who presided over US failures in Iraq and now the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan. Khalilzad, a leading US diplomat of Afghan-origin, has long been a controversial figure for his involvement in Washington's 'War on Terror'.
He also led Washington's talks with the Taliban, which many see as the main precursor to the Pashtun-dominated group's lightning victory in Afghanistan, TRT World reported.
After the Taliban's surprisingly quick victory against the US-trained Afghan army, many government operators and experts can't help but speculate on Washington's role, particularly that of Khalilzad, in the Afghan group's return to power.
Some other experts further believe that Khalilzad pursued a "special political agenda" to promote his personal and family interests.
"One man responsible for the chaos and destruction raging across Afghanistan is Zalmay Khalilzad. He should be investigated for alleged financial corruption," says Kamal Alam, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
In 2014, Khalilzad's finances were subject to an Austrian investigation which froze his wife's accounts in the European country based on information from the US Department of Justice that he was suspected of money laundering related to business activities in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"This man wanted to be the president of Afghanistan. He ran to be the president of Afghanistan. No one likes him. Everyone hates him," Alam tells TRT World.
A Turkish source, who is closely acquainted with Khalilzad, refused to go on the record about him saying because he would have to express very "negative views" publicly about someone he knows very well.
Prior to his appointment as the US envoy to Afghanistan, some of his countrymen from Afghanistan signed a petition accusing him for "ethno-nationalist motivated previous conducts", a veiled reference to his alleged support for the Pashtun community's dominance after the US invasion.
Alam drew attention to the fact that Khalilzad should have never been in a top mediating position between the US and the Taliban after making clear his political ambitions in his country of origin, Afghanistan.
Khalilzad had reportedly wanted to challenge in the 2009 Afghan elections, but missed the deadline to file his candidacy.
"How can an American official be neutral when he runs for the presidency of another country called Afghanistan?" Alam asks. While he has been an active participant of "the great game of Afghanistan", there is no way he could do a job of an independent adviser, Alam adds. (IANS)
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