envoy, was in Doha, Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office, to 'help formulate a joint international response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.' State Department said Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. peace envoy was back in the Middle East on Tuesday to warn the Taliban not to pursue a military victory on the ground and deliver a blunt message: A Taliban government that comes to power through force in Afghanistan will not be recognized.
The militants have ramped up their push across much of Afghanistan in recent weeks, turning their guns on provincial capitals after taking district after district and large swaths of land in the mostly rural countryside. Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in Kunduz city, northern Afghanistan, on Monday.
