Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is breaking his silence three days after fleeing Afghanistan. His whereabouts were kept under wraps until today when we learned he is residing in the United Arab Emirates. The country released a statement Wednesday saying:
“The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds.”
NBC News writes, “Ghani left Afghanistan on Sunday evening, with no announcement or clear reporting on where he was going. As the Taliban entered the presidential palace and declared the war ‘over,’ Ghani, 72, said he fled to prevent ‘a flood of bloodshed.’” It appears he was most worried about his own safety saying if he stayed he was worried he would be “hanged.” He made the comments as part of a videotaped statement.
In his first statement since fleeing, President Ashraf Ghani said he had left Afghanistan to avoid a lynching by the Taliban. "If I had stayed in Afghanistan," he said, “the people of Afghanistan would have witnessed the president hanged once more." https://t.co/edAmtPa064
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 18, 2021
Ghani has faced widespread criticism for abandoning Afghanistan when it so desperately needed clear leadership. The New York Times adds:
It was a spectacular fall for a World Bank-trained technocrat who holds a doctorate from Columbia University. He is the author of a book titled “Fixing Failed States.”
Instead of fixing Afghanistan during his nearly seven years in power, Mr. Ghani fled much in the same way he governed: isolated from all but a handful of advisers who are said to have departed with him.
Transition negotiations between fmr President Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah & the Taliban “had legs before Ashraf Ghani fled” says @saadmohseni. “By fleeing, Ghani triggered a collapse of the system… What he did was selfish, it was cowardly & it did trigger what we’re seeing today.” pic.twitter.com/z9ecuxwrP9
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) August 18, 2021
Watch Ghani’s remarks above.