Zalmay Khalilzad, US-Taliban peace deal broker, steps down as envoy to Afghanistan

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US official who played a key role in the peace deal between Washington and the Taliban, has stepped down as the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation. Khalilzad has been replaced by veteran American diplomat Thomas West. “I extend my gratitude for his decades of service to the American people,” Secretary of State Tony Blinken said while thanking Khalilzad for his services.