Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy for Afghanistan peace, said that he had urged senior officials in the Joe Biden administration to take a more active approach toward Syria.

According to a report by the New York Times published on Friday, Khalilzad said the Biden administration made a mistake by refraining from having more direct contact with the Islamic Emirate after it came to power in 2021.

He said the recent meeting of the US delegation with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new Syrian ruler, in Damascus was a positive step.

“Not that prematurely engaging doesn’t have risks,” Khalilzad said. “But I think there is an element of timing, of shaping things.” He added that Syria is “more strategically important” to the United States than Afghanistan, making the task more urgent.

Meanwhile, Khalilzad on Friday reiterated that the Doha Agreement states that a new government in Afghanistan would be determined by negotiations and dialogue between the IEA and other Afghan sides.

"The Doha Agreement did not define the nature of Afghan political systam, but it clearly stated that a new government would be determined by negotiations and dialogue between the Taliban and other Afghan sides," Khalilzad said on X. "The challenge for Afghans, Taliban and others, is how to deliver on this commitment, given current realities."

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the forced deportation of Afghan refugees, which was intended to reduce terrorism, has actually created hatred that is detrimental to regional peace.

Speaking to reporters in Adiala Jail, Khan criticized Pakistan's recent airstrikes on Afghanistan and said that this is the second time Pakistan is bombing Afghanistan.

He also criticized that Bilawal Bhutto did not visit Afghanistan even once when he was the Pakistani foreign minister, while this should have been a priority.

Imran Khan recalled that he had told the then Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa not to replace the head of the intelligence agency, General Faiz Hamid, because the situation in Afghanistan would be very different after the withdrawal of American forces, but he did not accept this only to extend his term, which led to an increase in terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

The Islamic Emirate's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has held a telephone conversation with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, the ministry said in a statement.

Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, the Ministry's deputy spokesman, stated that during the conversation, Muttaqi congratulated the Syrian government on their success, praised their stance on general amnesty and good governance, and expressed hope for the establishment of regular diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Syria.

Takal added that the Syrian Foreign Minister also expressed hope for the expansion of bilateral ties and for delegations from both sides to meet and engage in discussions.