View source for Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan

{{Short description|Former office of the United States Department of State}}
The '''United States special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan''' ('''SRAP''') was a position in the [[United States Department of State|State Department]] that reported directly to the [[United States Secretary of State|secretary of state]]. The Office of the Special Representative's purpose was to coordinate the department's activities in [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]] during the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]], in conjunction with increased numbers of troops during the [[Obama presidency]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.voanews.com/a/us-shutters-special-representative-for-afghanistan-pakistan-office/4079919.html | title=US Shutters Special Representative for Afghanistan-Pakistan Office | newspaper=Voa | last1=Azhar | first1=Aman }}</ref>

Under the Trump administration, it became the position of the '''U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation (SRAR)'''. Ambassador [[Zalmay Khalilzad]] was appointed to the post in September 2018, and stepped down following the [[Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2020–2021)|withdrawal from Afghanistan]]. Deputy special representative Thomas West took his place and has served as special representative for Afghanistan since October 20, 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/18/politics/zalmay-khalilzad-afghanistan-stepping-down/index.html|title=US envoy for Afghanistan steps down following chaotic evacuation|first1=Alex|last1=Marquardt|first2=Paul|last2=LeBlanc|work=CNN|date=October 19, 2021|access-date=October 20, 2021}}</ref>