A year on, ex-Afghan leader defends function in Taliban takeover
ISLAMABAD — On the eve of the anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Kabul, Afghanistan’s former president on Sunday defended what he stated was a break up-2nd conclusion to flee, stating he needed to prevent the humiliation of surrender to the insurgents.
Ashraf Ghani also instructed News that on the early morning of Aug. 15, 2021, with the Taliban at the gates of the Afghan money, he was the very last one at the presidential palace after his guards had disappeared. He stated the protection minister informed him previously that working day that Kabul could not be defended.
Ghani had previously sought to justify his actions on the day Kabul fell, but supplied extra particulars Sunday. He alleged that a person of the cooks in the palace had been supplied $100,000 to poison him and that he felt his fast environment was no extended safe and sound.
“The reason I still left was since I did not want to give the Taliban and their supporters the satisfaction of but all over again humiliating an Afghan president and creating him sign over the legitimacy of the government,” he claimed. “I have never ever been frightened.”
Critics say Ghani’s unexpected and magic formula departure Aug. 15 left the metropolis rudderless as U.S. and NATO forces ended up in the remaining stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country right after 20 yrs.
Ghani also denied persistent allegations that he took tens of tens of millions of dollars in income with him as he and other officials fled in helicopters.
In a report issued final week, a Congressional watchdog mentioned it truly is unlikely Ghani and his senior advisers transported that substantially cash on the escape helicopters.
“The hurried mother nature of their departure, the emphasis on travellers more than cargo, the payload and efficiency limitations of the helicopters, and the consistent alignment in in depth accounts from witnesses on the ground and in the air all suggest that there was very little extra than $500,000 in income on board the helicopters,” wrote the Place of work of the Particular Inspector Common for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which has tried out to check the large U.S. expending in the place over the years.
The company added that “it stays a powerful chance that significant quantities of U.S. forex disappeared from Afghan federal government assets in the chaos of the Taliban takeover, such as thousands and thousands from the presidential palace” and the vault of the Countrywide Directorate of Stability. Even so, the report mentioned the watchdog was not able to determine how significantly dollars was stolen and by whom.
In the conclusion, the Taliban seized the funds without substantial fighting final August, capping a months-extended navy blitz in which they rapidly captured provincial capitals devoid of considerably resistance from the significantly demoralized Afghan protection forces.
In the year considering that the takeover, the former insurgents have imposed significant limitations on girls and ladies, limiting their obtain to instruction and perform, in spite of preliminary claims to the opposite. The Taliban have remained internationally isolated and mainly cut off from the move of intercontinental support liked by the Ghani federal government. The Taliban have struggled to govern and halt the sharp economic decline that has pushed thousands and thousands extra Afghans into poverty and even hunger.
Irrespective of these issues, the Taliban-led govt prepared numerous occasions Monday to mark the anniversary, which include speeches by Taliban officials and a number of sports gatherings.
ISLAMABAD — On the eve of the anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Kabul, Afghanistan’s former president on Sunday defended what he stated was a break up-2nd conclusion to flee, stating he needed to prevent the humiliation of surrender to the insurgents.
Ashraf Ghani also instructed News that on the early morning of Aug. 15, 2021, with the Taliban at the gates of the Afghan money, he was the very last one at the presidential palace after his guards had disappeared. He stated the protection minister informed him previously that working day that Kabul could not be defended.
Ghani had previously sought to justify his actions on the day Kabul fell, but supplied extra particulars Sunday. He alleged that a person of the cooks in the palace had been supplied $100,000 to poison him and that he felt his fast environment was no extended safe and sound.
“The reason I still left was since I did not want to give the Taliban and their supporters the satisfaction of but all over again humiliating an Afghan president and creating him sign over the legitimacy of the government,” he claimed. “I have never ever been frightened.”
Critics say Ghani’s unexpected and magic formula departure Aug. 15 left the metropolis rudderless as U.S. and NATO forces ended up in the remaining stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country right after 20 yrs.
Ghani also denied persistent allegations that he took tens of tens of millions of dollars in income with him as he and other officials fled in helicopters.
In a report issued final week, a Congressional watchdog mentioned it truly is unlikely Ghani and his senior advisers transported that substantially cash on the escape helicopters.
“The hurried mother nature of their departure, the emphasis on travellers more than cargo, the payload and efficiency limitations of the helicopters, and the consistent alignment in in depth accounts from witnesses on the ground and in the air all suggest that there was very little extra than $500,000 in income on board the helicopters,” wrote the Place of work of the Particular Inspector Common for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which has tried out to check the large U.S. expending in the place over the years.
The company added that “it stays a powerful chance that significant quantities of U.S. forex disappeared from Afghan federal government assets in the chaos of the Taliban takeover, such as thousands and thousands from the presidential palace” and the vault of the Countrywide Directorate of Stability. Even so, the report mentioned the watchdog was not able to determine how significantly dollars was stolen and by whom.
In the conclusion, the Taliban seized the funds without substantial fighting final August, capping a months-extended navy blitz in which they rapidly captured provincial capitals devoid of considerably resistance from the significantly demoralized Afghan protection forces.
In the year considering that the takeover, the former insurgents have imposed significant limitations on girls and ladies, limiting their obtain to instruction and perform, in spite of preliminary claims to the opposite. The Taliban have remained internationally isolated and mainly cut off from the move of intercontinental support liked by the Ghani federal government. The Taliban have struggled to govern and halt the sharp economic decline that has pushed thousands and thousands extra Afghans into poverty and even hunger.
Irrespective of these issues, the Taliban-led govt prepared numerous occasions Monday to mark the anniversary, which include speeches by Taliban officials and a number of sports gatherings.