Family Of US Hostage Held By Taliban Urges Joe Biden To Fire Envoy

The call for US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad's dismissal comes amid questions over his negotiations with the Taliban that failed to advance the peace process.

The family of Mark Frerichs on Monday urged U.S. President Joe Biden to fire his chief Afghanistan peace negotiator, charging that the envoy has done little to win the release of the last American believed to be held hostage by the Taliban. The call for US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad's dismissal comes amid questions over his negotiations with the Taliban that failed to advance the peace process outlined in the February 2020 U.S. troop pullout deal he signed with them. "I have lost faith in Ambassador Khalilzad," Charlene Cakora, Frerichs' sister and the family spokesperson, said in a statement to Reuters, charging that he "appears to have ignored my brother's kidnapping." "They need someone talking to the Taliban who will make Mark a priority," she continued. "Ambassador Khalilzad needs to be fired."