Ex-Afghan president says had no choice but to flee Kabul

ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s erstwhile president said helium had nary prime but to abruptly permission Kabul arsenic the Taliban closed successful and denied an statement was successful the works for a peaceful takeover, disputing the accounts of erstwhile Afghan and U.S. officials.

Former President Ashraf Ghani said successful a BBC interrogation that aired Thursday that an advisor gave him conscionable minutes to determine to wantonness the superior city. He besides denied wide accusations that helium near Afghanistan with millions successful stolen money.

Ghani’s abrupt and concealed departure Aug. 15 near the metropolis rudderless arsenic U.S. and NATO forces were successful the last stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the state aft 20 years.

“On the greeting of that day, I had nary inkling that by precocious day I would beryllium leaving,” Ghani told BBC radio.

His remarks conflicted with different accounts.

Former President Hamid Karzai aged the Associated Press successful an interrogation earlier this period that Ghani’s departure scuttled the accidental for authorities negotiators, including himself and bid assembly president Abdullah Abdullah, to scope an 11th-hour statement with the Taliban, who had committed to staying extracurricular the capital.

But Ghani successful his vigor interrogation with British Gen. Sir Nick Carter, erstwhile main of defence staff, said helium fled “to forestall the demolition of Kabul,” claiming 2 rival Taliban factions were bearing down connected the metropolis and were acceptable to participate and wage a bitter conflict for control. There was nary grounds upon the Taliban introduction of the rival factions Ghani referred to.

The insurgent unit rapidly took power of the palace and according to humanitarian assistance workers, who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they wanted to talk privately, and who were determination astatine the time, the Taliban moved to support their compounds.

Still, the Taliban’s introduction into the superior was met with wide fearfulness and a heavy longing by galore to fly their desperately mediocre homeland contempt billions of planetary wealth implicit the 20 years the U.S.-backed governments had been successful power.

Ghani successful his interrogation denied wide accusations that helium near Afghanistan with a cache of stolen money. The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko has been tasked with investigating those allegations.

Successive Afghan governments, arsenic good arsenic autarkic overseas and Afghan contractors, person been accused of wide corruption implicit the past 20 years with dozens of reports by Sopko documenting the astir egregious incidents of corruption. Washington has spent $146 cardinal connected reconstruction successful Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban successful 2001, yet adjacent earlier the insurgents returned successful August, the poorness level successful Afghanistan was astatine 54 percent.

Earlier this week Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative reporting enactment with 150 journalists successful much than 30 countries, listed Ghani among the world’s astir corrupt leaders. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko was named the astir corrupt with Ghani, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and erstwhile Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz among the finalists for the rubric of astir corrupt.

After being told by his nationalist information advisor Hamdullah Mohib that his idiosyncratic extortion unit was not susceptible of defending him, Ghani said, helium decided to leave. Saying Mohib, who “was virtually terrified,” gave him conscionable 2 minutes to determine whether to leave, Ghani insisted helium was not definite wherever helium would beryllium taken adjacent aft helium was connected the chopper getting acceptable to evacuate Kabul.

Ghani did not code the accelerated and swift illness of the Afghan subject successful the weeks starring up to the Taliban’s last accomplishment successful Kabul but helium did blasted an statement the U.S. signed with the Taliban successful 2020 for the eventual illness of his government. That statement laid retired conditions for the last withdrawal of the remaining U.S. and NATO forces ending America’s longest war. ‘It besides provided for the merchandise of 5,000 Taliban prisoners, which Ghani said strengthened the insurgent force.