Kabul: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani broke his silence in a video message for the first time after the fall of Kabul earlier this week. Ghani left Kabul just after the Taliban took over the capital Kabul and his location was unknown. The statement came hours after the United Arab Emirates confirmed that it had accepted Ashraf and his family on humanitarian grounds.
Speaking from Dubai in the video, Ghani said that he lands in the UAE to avoid disasters and had no intention of remaining in exile in the Gulf nation and was ‘in talk’ to return home. The video was posted on Facebook where Ashraf Ghani, said that he would have witnessed violence if had he chosen to remain in Kabul.
Ghani thanked the Afghan defense forces for putting up a fight against the Taliban. In a response to US President Joe Biden and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg’s remarks, Ghani said, “I should not be judged by those who do not know all of the details.” Ghani mentioned that the Afghan government’s negotiations with the Taliban did not reach any conclusion. “It is our failure,” he said.
Both US President and NATO chief have said that the collapse of the Ghani government was caused by the “failure” of Afghan political leaders to come together to negotiate the future of their country.
Ghani said that he wanted to “transit the power to Taliban peacefully” but was “evicted from Afghanistan” against his will, the message said. Referring to the allegation put up by the Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan that he fled Kabul with “four cars and a helicopter full of cash”, Ashraf Ghani said he rejects all such allegations.
“Rumours that I left with a lot of money are completely baseless. They are a lie. You can verify this with the UAE Customs. I did not even have time to change my shoes. My security asked me to leave as there was an imminent threat to me as head of state,” Ashraf Ghani said.
Leave A Comment