 At a conference in Pretoria on 27–29 August 2012, Khanfar said that he had learned about both political struggle and reconciliation during his years in South Africa.In 2001 and 2002, Khanfar reported on Afghanistan from New Delhi.Al Jazeera was unable to get its own correspondent back into the northern territories controlled by the Northern Alliance on the eve of the war, so New Delhi was used, India having a strong Northern Alliance diplomatic presence.