The former U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Peace, Zalmay Khalilzad, says a solution must be found for the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In a podcast interview, Khalilzad stated that resolving this issue between the two countries requires leadership that enjoys public support. He added that Imran Khan in Pakistan is capable of such leadership, but in Afghanistan, the search continues for a leader who can address this challenge.
Khalilzad also emphasized his disagreement with the view that no Afghan president is capable of solving this issue.
The former U.S. envoy further remarked, “I think you need strong, good leaders with backing of their people. I think Imran Khan would be such a leader in my view in Pakistan. And in Afghanistan, we’re still in search of a leader that could do that.”
In another part of his remarks, he said that for Afghanistan to function effectively and for Pakistan to avoid the risk of a two-front conflict, a solution must be found.
He stated: “I think over time, for Afghanistan to work and for Pakistan not to face the potential of a two-front conflict, which I think has been, understandably, Pakistan has been concerned about the security establishment, and so there has to be a solution for this.”
Khalilzad sees the future of both countries in regional cooperation. According to him, Afghanistan and Pakistan, along with the five Central Asian countries, should now become a unified economic zone similar to the European Union.
He added: “I see the future in a regional cooperation, perhaps starting with economic and trade issues, to the west of Pakistan. Because Central Asia has also come on, given the disintegration of the Soviet Union, in which Afghanistan and Pakistan played a role in increasing the cost of the occupation of Afghanistan, took huge risks and paid a huge price. But now, these two countries, plus the five Central Asian countries, should be a single economic zone, alike EU.”
The former American official stated that this regional cooperation could begin based on critical minerals, in which all these countries are relatively rich.
So far, the Islamic Emirate has not commented on the remarks made by the former U.S. envoy for Afghan peace.
