KABUL – The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has confirmed that theformer U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has been officially appointed asthe Special U.S. Adviser on Afghanistan.

Zalmay Khalilzad has been a strong critic of Pakistan and it’s military andconsidered as architect of Do More policy against Pakistan.

Speaking to reports ahead of the departure to Pakistan, Pompeo said willassist the State Department with the ongoing efforts for peace andreconciliation in Afghanistan.

Pompeo further added that Khalilzad would also accompany him and the U.S.delegatin during the visit to Pakistan.

“We need Pakistan to seriously engage to help us get to the reconciliationwe need in Afghanistan,” Pompeo was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“The very reason for this trip is to try to articulate what it is ourexpectation is, the things that they can do, the things that they expect usto do, and see if we can’t find a path forward together,” he added.

This comes as efforts are underway to revive the Afghan-led peace talksbetween the Afghan government and the Taliban group.

A senior U.S. diplomat met with the Taliban political representatives overa month ago to seek ways for the revival of peace talks.