Former US special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad said in a post on X early Thursday that a claim in House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul’s draft resolution on him having said he “baselessly asserted the Taliban (IEA) would honor commitments” was untrue.

Khalilzad said the draft resolution states he “baselessly asserted the Taliban would honor their commitments and respect basic human rights.”

“This statement is flatly untrue. I never made such a statement. I am surprised that such a claim would be made without documentation - ‘baselessly,’ so to speak,” he said.

On Wednesday, House Republicans voted to censure President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, capping their work in Washington with legislation that carried no legal weight but drove a political point ahead of the November elections.

The resolution condemned Biden, Harris and other officials in the administration for “decision-making and execution failures throughout the withdrawal from Afghanistan” and blamed them for the deaths of 13 U.S. service members who were killed by a suicide bomber at Kabul’s airport during the final days of the evacuation.

With regards to the Doha agreement, the resolution stated: “Whereas, in 2021, under the Biden-Harris administration, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, baselessly asserted the Taliban would honor their commitments and respect basic human rights.”
Khalilzad responded by saying in his post on X: “The Doha Agreement that I helped negotiate under President Trump did not deal with human rights.

“It dealt with the terms for the safe military withdrawal including no attacks on US forces, and not allowing terrorists, individuals or groups, including al-Qaida, to use Afghanistan soil to threaten the security of the United States and our allies.

“The Taliban (IEA) had agreed that a new government for Afghanistan - and presumably its human right policies - would subsequently and separately be negotiated between them, the (former) Afghan government, and other Afghans.

“Some such negotiations took place, but no agreements were arrived at before the completion of our withdrawal,” Khalilzad said.

He went on to state that Biden decided not to condition the US withdrawal on a political agreement among Afghans, fearing a return to Islamic Emirate attacks against US forces if Intra-Afghan negotiations dragged on.

“Aside from adding four months to the withdrawal timeline, the Biden Administration did not make any other changes in the Doha Agreement,” he said.

“In addition to not having made any statement about the Taliban (IEA) honoring commitments on human rights, in my appearances before various congressional committees, whenever asked whether I trusted the Taliban (IEA) to honor their commitments in regard to military matters and terrorism, my reply invariably was that we were talking about international relations, an arena in which no one can be trusted, and least of all the Taliban (IEA).

“I emphasized that it was not about trust. The agreement as negotiated was condition-based, not trust-based, and delivering on our commitments in the agreement was linked to the Taliban’s (IEA) delivery on its commitments, which would need to be continuously evaluated and verified.

“I did report that the Taliban (IEA) were - up to the time of my appearances - honoring their commitment not to attack US forces and needed to do more to meet their obligation on terrorism.

“Indeed, several elements of the agreement remain unfulfilled by us because the Taliban (IEA) have not fulfilled some of their commitments,” he said.

Khalilzad concluded by saying: “Undeniably, the final phase of the withdrawal was a disaster.

“The main reasons for this were a.) poor intelligence (we did not foresee that the Afghan government would simply collapse before we had even departed or that its military would essentially dissolve and b.) our own inadequate military planning and execution in light of those unexpected developments.

“Our soldiers performed heroically under the circumstances, which had devolved into chaos in and around Kabul Airport,” he said.

House Republicans on Wednesday voted to condemn President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, capping their work in Washington with legislation that carried no legal weight but drove a political point ahead of the November elections.

The resolution passed 219 - 194 with 10 Democrats and all Republicans voting in favor. It condemned Biden, Harris and other officials in the administration for “decision-making and execution failures throughout the withdrawal from Afghanistan” as well as blamed them for the deaths of 13 U.S. service members who were killed by a suicide bomber at Kabul’s airport during the final days of the evacuation, the Associated Press reported.

On the campaign trail, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who as president negotiated the withdrawal deal with the Taliban, has repeatedly blamed Harris for the chaotic and deadly evacuation while she was serving as Biden’s vice president. Harris, now the Democratic candidate for president, has shot back that Trump is to blame for his role in the deal and that she agrees with Biden’s decision to end America’s longest war.

Republicans have used their House majority to make Trump’s case in recent weeks, releasing a report that mostly blamed Biden. On Tuesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee also advanced contempt of Congress charges against Secretary of State Antony Blinken following a contentious back-and-forth with the Cabinet secretary over an appearance to testify on the withdrawal.

“Three years ago, the world witnessed one of the most devastating policy disasters in American history. The Biden-Harris administration withdrew all U.S. forces from Afghanistan with no plan, no care and no remorse,” Rep. Michael McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on the House floor Wednesday.

“As a result, 13 brave U.S. servicemembers and over 170 Afghan civilians were murdered and 45 U.S. servicemembers and countless others were injured,” added McCaul, a Texas Republican.

Most assessments have concluded Trump and Biden share blame for the collapse that concluded the 20-year war, which saw Taliban fighters take over Afghanistan again before the last American troops even flew out of the Kabul airport. Over 2,000 U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan.The reviews, including the 18-month House investigation led by House Republicans, have not pinpointed any instance where Harris had a particular impact on decision-making on the withdrawal.

The main U.S. government watchdog for the war points to Trump’s 2020 deal with the the Islamic Emirate to withdraw all U.S. forces and military contractors as “the single most important factor” in the collapse of U.S.-allied Afghan security forces and the Islamic Emirate takeover. Biden’s April 2021 announcement that he would proceed with the withdrawal set in motion by Trump was the second-biggest factor, the watchdog said.

Democrats on Wednesday faulted House Republicans for rushing the resolution to the House floor and criticized it as an attempt to further politicize blame for the withdrawal.

“Republicans are trying desperately to clean up a candidate, a candidate that truly has a flawed record — Trump’s record — on this withdrawal,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov said on Wednesday that Tashkent follows a pragmatic policy towards Afghanistan, contributing to its reconstruction and transport and energy infrastructure development.

“In order to achieve stability, it is crucial to uphold the UN’s central role in resolving the Afghan issue and developing coordinated strategies to ensure sustainable development,” Saidov said addressing the general debate of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

He expressed regret that the international community has not yet been able to reverse the challenging situation in Afghanistan.

Saidov also said that the educational center for Afghans in Termez city will be expanded into a global training center.

Saidov pointed to the establishment of an international trade center in Termez and said that its purpose is to create a favorable environment for trade.