1. The envoy

09/01/21 • 26 min

2 Listeners

Talking to the Taliban – the US diplomat who negotiated the American pull-out. Zalmay Khalilzad has been the Afghanistan point man for three American presidents. Born in Afghanistan, for the last 20 years he’s played a pivotal role in US policy toward the country of his birth. He tells Lyse Doucet that it is now time for Afghans to shape their own future.

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Prelude

The fate of a nation has changed. The BBC’s chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet, has followed every twist and turn of the Afghanistan story. She explores how the last 20 years have shaped Afghans, their dreams for a new future, and their fears that the cycle of violence will never stop.

Available from 1 September 2021.

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2. The Talib

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Founding member, ambassador, prisoner – in the Taliban’s inner circle at the very start. Abdul Salam Zaeef rose to prominence in the Taliban government that ruled Afghanistan until Western forces overthrew it following 9/11. Handed over to the Americans, Mullah Zaeef spent three years as a prisoner in the US detention centre, Guantanamo Bay. He no longer holds an official post in the Taliban, but he despises the democracy that has been built in Afghanistan over the last 20 years. He tells Lyse Doucet that Afghanistan needs a proper Islamic government.

Series music composed by Arson Fahim