On the eve of the anniversary of the Taliban’s seize of Kabul, the previous Afghanistan president on Sunday defended what he mentioned was a split-second determination to flee, saying he wished to keep away from the humiliation of surrendering to the rebels .
Ashraf Ghani additionally advised CNN that on the morning of August 15, 2021, with the Taliban on the gates of the Afghan capital, he was the final particular person in Rashtrapati Bhavan after his guards disappeared. He mentioned the protection minister had advised him earlier that day that Kabul couldn’t be defended.
Ghani had earlier sought to justify his actions on the day Kabul fell, however supplied extra particulars on Sunday. He alleged that one of many palace’s cooks was supplied $100,000 to poison him and felt that his fast atmosphere was now not protected.
“The reason I left was because I didn’t want to give the Taliban and their supporters the pleasure of humiliating an Afghan president again and signing off on the legitimacy of the government,” he mentioned. “I’ve never been scared.”
Critics say Ghani’s sudden and covert departure on August 15 left town with out a helm as US and NATO forces had been within the remaining levels of their chaotic withdrawal from the nation after 20 years.
Ghani additionally denied persistent allegations that he took tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in money with him as he and different officers fled within the helicopter. Escape Helicopter.
“The hasty nature of their departure, the emphasis on passengers on cargo, the constraints of the helicopters’ payload and efficiency, and the constant alignment in detailed accounts of witnesses on the bottom and within the air all recommend that there was a bit of over $500,000 in money on the helicopters. ,” wrote the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which through the years has tried to observe huge US spending within the nation.
This August 15, 2021, Taliban fighters seize the Afghan Rashtrapati Bhavan in Kabul, Afghanistan, after President Ashraf Ghani fled the nation. (AP Photo/Zabi Karimi, FILE)
The company mentioned that “it remains a strong possibility that in the chaos of the Taliban takeover significant amounts of US currency disappeared from Afghan government assets, including millions from the presidential palace” and the vaults of the National Security Directorate.
However, the report mentioned the watchdog was unable to find out how a lot cash was stolen and by whom.
In the top, the Taliban captured the capital with out vital preventing final August, limiting a weeklong navy offensive wherein they captured provincial capitals with out a lot resistance from more and more demoralized Afghan safety forces.
In the 12 months following the takeover, former rebels have imposed vital restrictions on women and girls, limiting their entry to training and work, regardless of preliminary guarantees on the contrary. The Taliban stays internationally remoted and largely minimize off from the circulation of worldwide assist obtained by the Ghani authorities. The Taliban have struggled to regulate and cease the sharp financial fallout that has pushed hundreds of thousands extra Afghans into poverty and even starvation.
Despite these challenges, the Taliban-led authorities on Monday deliberate a number of occasions to mark the anniversary, together with speeches by Taliban officers and a number of other sporting occasions.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
