Last week, at Kabul’s airport, a Taliban soldier took up arms and stood next to former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and several other Americans with a smile on their faces as they posed for a commemorative photo with their friends. This is the first time in nearly four years that U.S. government representatives have visited Afghanistan under the Taliban and a U.S. citizen who had been held hostage by the Taliban for two years has been released. Positive comments were seen in the press statements from both sides. The Taliban government’s foreign minister said they released the American citizen “on humanitarian grounds” and “as a goodwill gesture” and the US secretary of state also described the deal as a “positive and constructive step”.The Taliban also said earlier this week that the United States had ended a $10 million bounty on Sirajuddin Haqqani. The United States has revoked a reward for information about the Taliban government’s acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and removed him from the list of wanted people, Taliban government officials in Afghanistan say. Taliban officials say that in addition to the interior minister, the names of two other Taliban leaders have also been removed from the list of wanted people. However, US officials have not yet commented on the matter and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) website still announces a reward of $ 10 million for information leading to the arrest of Sirajuddin Haqqani.

“The Taliban see Zalmay as someone they can work with.”

The unexpected presence of Zalmay Khalilzad and at least six Americans in Kabul has raised questions about whether Zalmay Khalilzad, the most popular former U.S. diplomat among Afghans, will return.A source close to Khalilzad told the BBC that he could be reappointed to the US special envoy or any other important position. ‘”The Taliban see Zalmay as someone they can work with,” Graeme Smith, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, told the BBC, without mentioning Khalilzad’s future in the Trump administration. I think a lot can be done. ‘According to Omar Samad, an advisor to the Atlantic Council, Zalmay Khalilzad’s role has so far been at the level of an advisor and facilitator.”However, whether Khalilzad will be appointed to a higher position depends on whether the discussions and approach to Afghanistan will be strategic or strategic. ‘Afghanistan expert Faiz Zaland also believes that no new role will be created for Afghanistan outside the US State Department and he believes that Zalmay Khalilzad will not be appointed as a special representative. His role will continue at the level of an adviser, who has negotiated with the Taliban in the previous Trump administration government.

But a source close to the Republican Party in Washington told the BBC on condition of anonymity that there is a negative view of Zalmay Khalilzad in Trump’s inner circle.”Secretary of State Mark Rubio doesn’t have a very positive opinion of Khalilzad. ‘”As far as I know, Khalilzad’s presence in the U.S. delegation to Afghanistan was at the request of Adam Bowler, the President’s Special Representative for Hostage Affairs, to accompany him on this trip as an expert on the Taliban and Afghanistan,” he added. ‘According to him, there has been no discussion in foreign policy circles close to Trump about the return of Zalmay Khalilzad as special envoy. They say Khalilzad’s familiarity with the Taliban and his possible role in persuading the Taliban to release the American citizen may have led him to join the process of releasing the American citizen.

Strategy or trick?

When Zalmay Khalilzad left Afghanistan with the freed American citizen and his team, he wrote on social media: “Today is a good day. ‘Visits by U.S. representatives to the city, which Americans were forced to leave nearly four years ago after Taliban militants seized control and toppled The Government of Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, have raised doubts about whether relations between the U.S. and the Taliban government are entering a serious and new phase diplomatically. Omar Samad, adviser to the Atlantic Council, believes it is difficult to accurately predict whether the U.S. delegation’s recent visit is the start of a new dialogue and whether it will involve further steps.”I think, first of all, the Trump administration itself did not pay enough and necessary attention to the Afghan issue. It is also not clear whether this short-term focus on the Afghan issue is strategic or strategic.”If it’s strategic, it can only be a transaction, but if it’s strategic, there will certainly be more serious motives,” he says. However, we have not yet reached the stage to form a final opinion about this option. ‘However, according to Faiz Zaland, President Trump is more interested in Afghanistan than his predecessor Joe Biden.”I think Trump’s credit for sending this delegation to Afghanistan and releasing the American citizen, as well as the Taliban’s statement that they consider this move a sign of goodwill, will improve bilateral relations in the coming days, weeks, and months,” he said. ‘

How can Trump benefit from the Taliban regime?

According to a source close to the Republican Party, “Trump’s behavior should be seen in the light of his campaign promises, which he is committed to fulfilling.” One of them is the release of American citizens imprisoned in different parts of the world. Two other U.S. citizens are still imprisoned in Afghanistan. ‘Another thing is that in the Trump administration’s foreign policy system, the Afghanistan issue is considered an ‘unresolved global crisis and an incomplete plan’, but its priority level is low. Omar Samad believes that America’s view of Afghanistan can spread beyond Afghanistan.”The main strategic issue is competition with China, and perhaps even in some U.S. circles, Iran and the Middle East can be included in the agenda of talks with Afghanistan to some extent.” ‘According to Graeme Smith, adviser to the International Crisis Group, the Taliban government’s hands are not full enough to sit with the United States and defeat China. When the pious sit in front of Khalilzad, he does not have much to offer. ‘”They have a few American hostages whose release the United States is interested in. On the other hand, Afghanistan’s trillions of dollars worth of mineral resources are very important for the Taliban and they are eager to invest in American companies. But the reality is that any investment requires the interest of private companies and currently Afghanistan does not have a constitution or stable laws, which are a basic condition for investment. ‘Graeme Smith believes that the absence of these laws will discourage investment in Afghanistan.”It’s very, very expensive. Let’s see what the Taliban can offer to get the attention of the Americans. ‘The problem that Graeme Smith is pointing out and which Western allies, including the United States, are closely watching is the “threat of terrorism” especially the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISSK) group.”The United States and its allies are not only interested in obtaining intelligence from the Taliban but also want the Taliban to take effective action against ISIS,” he said. ‘