The United States' special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad,  is resigning from the post following the chaotic American withdrawal from the country, the US State Department said on Monday. Khalilzad, who served as the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation since September 2018, has stepped down, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.

Taking to Twitter on Monday night, Blinken said: "Thank you to Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for decades of tireless service to the United States. Pleased to welcome Thomas West to the role of Special Representative for Afghanistan." Today, our forces are out, the war is finally over for the United States and the very high financial costs of this engagement can now be directed to other vital needs. However, the political arrangement between the Afghan government and the Taliban did not go forward as envisaged. "The reasons for this are too complex and I will share my thoughts in the coming days and weeks, after leaving government service." The move came two months after the hasty withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.

"I am of course disappointed on behalf of the Afghan people that, notwithstanding our best efforts and extensive shuttle diplomacy on my part and that of the team as well as much urging from the international community, the Afghans failed to make use of this opportunity to end their 40-year conflict in a constructive spirit and with a fair compromise," Khalilzad added in the leader. 

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