Family of U.S. hostage held by Taliban calls for envoy's firing

FILE PHOTO: Zalmay Khalilzad, special envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation, testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 27, 2021. Susan Walsh/Pool via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -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 U.S. 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.