In Social Sharing, an ex-Afghan president defends the decision to evacuate Kabul as the Taliban closed in.
Previous Afghan President Hamid Karzai stated he had no option but to flee Kabul as the Taliban drew in and denied there was a deal in the works for a peaceful takeover, contradicting former Afghan and US officials’ testimony.
Former President Ashraf Ghani stated in a BBC interview on Thursday that an adviser gave him only minutes to determine whether or not to leave Kabul as the capital. He also disputed allegations that he fled Afghanistan with millions of dollars in stolen cash.
Ghani’s abrupt and secretive departure on Aug. 15 left the city adrift as US and NATO forces neared the end of a tumultuous 20-year retreat from the country. “I had no idea in the morning of that day that I would be leaving by late afternoon,” Ghani told BBC radio. Other accounts contradicted what he said.
In an interview with The Associated Press earlier in the month, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai said Ghani’s departure nixed the chance for government communicators, including himself and peace council chairman Abdullah Abdullah, to approach an 11th-hour deal with the Taliban, who had pledged to stay outside the capital.
Ghani, however, claimed in a radio interview with British Gen. Sir Nick Carter, the former head of the military staff, that he fled “to prevent the devastation of Kabul,” stating that two competing Taliban factions were closing in on the capital and were preparing to enter and fight for control. When the Taliban arrived, there was no sign of the competing factions Ghani mentioned.
Source: CBC News
