‘It was so sudden’ — ex-Afghan president recounts how he fled after Taliban takeover

Ashraf Ghani, former Afghanistan president, has recounted how he fled the country after the Taliban takeover.

In August, Ghani fled the country as Taliban fighters closed in on the presidential palace in the capital city of Kabul.

Resurfacing later, Ghani had said he believed “countless patriots would be martyred and the city of Kabul would be destroyed” if he had stayed behind.

His decision to leave Afghanistan was heavily criticised and many were said to have accused him of abandoning the country.

Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the high council for national reconciliation in Afghanistan, had also accused Ghani of “leaving the country in a difficult situation”.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme on Thursday, the ex-president, who is said to now be in the United Arab Emirates, said the Taliban fighters had agreed not to enter Kabul – “but two hours later, this was not the case”.

“Two different factions of the Taliban were closing in from two different directions. And the possibility of a massive conflict between them that would destroy the city of five million and bring havoc to the people was enormous,” he said.

Ghani said he agreed to let some of those close to him leave Kabul while he waited for a car to take him to the ministry of defence, adding that he had no idea that he would leave the country.

“On the morning of that day, I had no inkling that by late afternoon, I would be leaving. Dr Mohib, the national security adviser, with the chief of PPS (president protective service) came and they said PPS has collapsed. If I take a stand, they will all be killed and they will not be capable of defending me. Dr Mohib was literally terrified. He did not give me more than two minutes,” he said.

“My instructions had been to prepare for departure for Khost. He told me Khost had fallen and so had Jalalabad. I did not know where we were going. Only when we took off did it become clear that we were leaving. So, this really was sudden.”

Ghani also denied accusations that he left Afghanistan with large amounts of stolen money.

“I want to categorically state that I did not take any money out of the country. My style of life is known to everyone. What would I do with money?” he said.