Didn’t flee with money, would have been executed if I stayed: Afghan president

Releasing his first video ever since he was reported to have fled Afghanistan soon after the Taliban took control of Kabul, President Ashraf Ghani said he left the country to avoid bloodshed while rubbishing statements that claimed he stashed four cars and a chopper with money while flying out.

In the video that Ghani posted on his Facebook page late on Wednesday, he confirmed that he was in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He thanked Afghan security forces in his message, but also said that the failure of the peace process led to the Taliban snatching power.

Also read: Afghan exit shows limits to US power; provides valuable lessons for India

Refuting allegations levelled by Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tajikistan that he had stolen USD 169 million from state funds before fleeing, Ghani said the truth was that he could barely put on his boots before rushing out and was “forced to leave Afghanistan with one set of traditional clothes, a vest and the sandals I was wearing”.

“Do not believe whoever tells you that your president sold you out and fled for his own advantage and to save his own life…these accusations are baseless…and I strongly reject them,” he said.

Ghani said he did not flee Kabul but was expelled as the Taliban breached the agreement to not enter Kabul. He said he would have been executed by the Taliban if he had stayed back.

Ghani, however, said that he doesn’t plan to stay in exile and talks are underway for his return to Afghanistan.

Ghani left Afghanistan on Sunday just as the Taliban approached Kabul. While location of his refuge country was unknown between Sunday and Wednesday and was suspected to be either Oman, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan or Lebanon, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs later confirmed that the country has given asylum to Ghani and his family on humanitarian grounds.

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The United States, however, has said that Ghani is no more a player in Afghanistan.

“He is no longer a figure in Afghanistan,” deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman was quoted as saying.