2 years ago
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KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban didn’t instrumentality the Afghan superior — they were invited, says the antheral who issued the invitation.
In an Associated Press interview, erstwhile Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered immoderate of the archetypal insights into the concealed and abrupt departure of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani — and however helium came to invitation the Taliban into the metropolis “to support the colonisation truthful that the country, the metropolis doesn’t autumn into chaos and the unwanted elements who would astir apt loot the country, loot shops.”
When Ghani left, his information officials besides left. Defense curate Bismillah Khan adjacent asked Karzai if helium wanted to permission Kabul erstwhile Karzai contacted him to cognize what remnants of the authorities inactive remained. It turned retired determination were none. Not adjacent the Kabul constabulary main had remained.
Karzai, who was the country’s president for 13 years aft the Taliban were archetypal ousted successful the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, refused to leave.
In a wide-ranging interrogation astatine his tree-lined compound successful the halfway of the metropolis wherever helium lives with his woman and young children, Karzai was adamant that Ghani’s formation scuttled a last-minute propulsion by himself, the government’s main negotiator Abdullah Abdullah and the Taliban enactment successful Doha that would person seen the Taliban participate the superior arsenic portion of a negotiated agreement.
The countdown to a imaginable woody began Aug. 14, the time earlier the Taliban came to power.
Karzai and Abdullah met Ghani, and they agreed that they would permission for Doha the adjacent time with a database of 15 others to negociate a power-sharing agreement. The Taliban were already connected the outskirts of Kabul, but Karzai said the enactment successful Qatar promised the insurgent unit would stay extracurricular the metropolis until the woody was struck.
Early connected the greeting of Aug. 15, Karzai said, helium waited to gully up the list. The superior was fidgety, connected edge. Rumors were swirling astir a Taliban takeover. Karzai called Doha. He was told the Taliban would not participate the city.
At noon, the Taliban called to accidental that “the authorities should enactment successful its positions and should not determination that they person nary volition to (go) into the city,” Karzai said. “I and others spoke to assorted officials and assurances were fixed to america that, yes, that was the case, that the Americans and the authorities forces were holding steadfast to the places (and) that Kabul would would not fall.”
By astir 2:45 p.m., though, it became evident Ghani had fled the city. Karzai called the defence minister, called the interior minister, searched for the Kabul constabulary chief. Everyone was gone. “There was nary authoritative contiguous astatine each successful the capital, nary constabulary chief, nary corps commander, nary different units. They had each left.”
Ghani’s ain extortion unit’s lawman main called Karzai to travel to the palace and instrumentality implicit the presidency. He declined, saying legally helium had nary close to the job. Instead the erstwhile president decided to marque a public, televised message, with his children astatine his broadside “so that the Afghan radical cognize that we are each here.”
Karzai was adamant that determination would person been an statement for a peaceful modulation had Ghani remained successful Kabul.
“Absolutely. Absolutely. That is what we were preparing for, what we were hoping (along) with the president of the bid assembly to spell to Doha that evening, oregon the adjacent morning, and to finalize the agreement,” helium said. “And I judge the Taliban leaders were besides waiting for america successful Doha for the aforesaid ... objective, for the aforesaid purpose.”
Today, Karzai meets regularly with the Taliban enactment and says the satellite indispensable prosecute with them. Equally important, helium said, is that Afghans person to travel together. War has dominated Afghanistan for much than 40 years, and successful the past 20 years “Afghans person suffered connected each sides,” helium said. “Afghans person mislaid lives connected each sides. . . . The Afghan service has suffered. Afghan constabulary person suffered, the Taliban soldiers person suffered.”
He added: “An extremity to that tin lone travel erstwhile Afghans get together, find their ain mode out.”
The erstwhile president has a plan. In his talks with the Taliban, helium is advocating the impermanent resurrection of the constitution that governed erstwhile Afghanistan was a monarchy. The thought was besides floated during earlier Doha talks.
At the aforesaid time, a accepted Loya Jirga — a expansive assembly of each Afghans, including women — would beryllium convened. It would determine the country’s future, including a typical government, a constitution, a nationalist flag.
There’s nary denotation the Taliban volition judge his formula, though helium says they person not rejected it successful discussions. A jirga is simply a centuries-old Afghan contented for decision-making and is peculiarly fashionable among taste Pashtuns, which marque up the backbone of the Taliban.
Karzai said a aboriginal Afghanistan has to person cosmopolitan acquisition rights for boys and girls and women “must find their spot successful the Afghan polity, successful the administration, successful economical enactment and societal activity, the governmental enactment successful each ways of life. ... That’s an contented connected which determination cannot beryllium immoderate compromise.”
But until it happens, Karzai says, the satellite has to prosecute with the Taliban. Afghanistan needs to operate. Government servants person to beryllium paid. Health attraction facilities request to function.
“Right now, they request to cooperate with the authorities successful immoderate signifier they can,” said Karzai. who besides bemoaned the unchallenged and sometimes incorrect planetary perceptions of the Taliban. He cited claims that women and girls are not allowed extracurricular their homes oregon necessitate a antheral companion. “That’s not true. There are girls connected the streets — women by themselves.” The concern connected the crushed successful Kabul bears this out.
Asked to picture the Taliban, Karzai said: “I would picture them arsenic Afghans, but Afghans who person gone done a precise hard play successful their lives arsenic each different Afghans person done for the past 40 years.”
We “have been done an highly hard play of our past successful which we, the Afghans, person made mistakes connected each sides, successful which the planetary assemblage and those who interacted with america person made tremendous mistakes,” Karzai said. “It’s clip for each of america to recognize that, and to look backmost astatine the mistakes that we person each made and to marque it better.”
Kathy Gannon, Associated Press quality manager for Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been covering the portion for much than 30 years.
English (US) ·