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Fawzia Koofi is one of the few Afghan women to have attended talks with the Taliban
An attack on one of the only women involved in negotiations with the Taliban was a “cowardly and criminal” attempt to disrupt the Afghan peace process, the US envoy said.
Zalmay Khalilzad said he was ‘relieved’ that Fawzia Koofi had escaped from Friday’s shooting ‘without serious injury’.
Ms Koofi was shot in the right arm while traveling with her sister.
The Taliban have denied involvement in the attack, which came as both sides prepared for talks.
The militant group has previously refused to negotiate directly with the Afghan government, but agreed to take part in the talks with the aim of ending nearly two decades of conflict after reaching an agreement with the US in February.
As part of the agreement, the Afghan government had to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners. On Thursday, the release of the last 400 militants began. Talks are expected to begin in Qatar after the final prisoner is released.
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But there are concerns about the attack on Ms Koofi, a vocal Taliban critic who returned from a rally in the northern Parwan province when she was attacked near the capital, Kabul. the process could be undermined.
“Corresponding pattern of targeted attacks that could adversely affect confidence in the peace process,” Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission chief Shaharzad Akbar wrote on Twitter.
Mr Khalizad also took to Twitter, saying he wanted “all sides seeking peace not only to condemn the attack, but to speed up the peace process and start intra-Afghan negotiations ASAP”.
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The attack, which no one claimed, was also condemned as “cowardly” by President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Supreme Council of National Association.
Ms Koofi is one of the few women who took part in the dialogue with the hard-line Islamist group that ruled Afghanistan until they were ousted from power in 2001 by a US-led invasion.
They have since fought to regain territory. Last year alone, more than 3,000 civilians were killed in the conflict, according to United Nations figures.
However, the agreement with the US has remained controversial. On Saturday, France objected to the release of some of the remaining 400 detainees held by Afghan authorities – some of whom it says were involved in the murder of French nationals.
