Afghan president who fled: Ghani does not want to remain in exile

When the Taliban stood in front of Kabul, Afghan President Ghani fled. He found refuge in the United Arab Emirates. But he doesn’t want to stay there. However, the US does not believe in a future in Afghanistan.

The refugee Afghan head of state Ashraf Ghani has reported from exile in the United Arab Emirates with a video message. In it he spoke of a possible return to Afghanistan. There are talks about it. Ghani had left the country when the militant Islamist Taliban advanced on Kabul.

In the Facebook video, Ghani defended his much-criticized departure from Kabul. It was the only way to prevent bloodshed, he said. However, he does not want to remain in exile permanently.

USA: Ghani no longer a major player

Ghani welcomed the talks between former President Hamid Karzai and a representative of the overthrown government, Abdullah Abdullah, with the Taliban, he said. Karzai and Abdullah met with the leader of the powerful Taliban faction Hakkani network, which the US has classified as terrorist, Anas Hakkani. The government in Washington sees no political future for Ghani: The US administration declared that Ghani was no longer an important player in Afghanistan.

In his video, Ghani denied allegations that he took millions of dollars with him. “I was forced to leave Afghanistan with a set of traditional clothing, a vest and the sandals I was wearing,” he said. The Afghan ambassador to Tajikistan had previously accused Ghani of stealing 144 million euros. Mohammed Sahir Aghbar announced at a press conference that he would apply to Interpol to arrest Ghani. Aghbar called Ghani’s escape “a betrayal of the state and the nation”. He did not explain the allegation of theft in more detail.

According to the Russian Embassy in Kabul on Monday, Ghani fled Afghanistan with four cars and a helicopter full of money.

UAE as a safe haven

The United Arab Emirates took in Ghani and his family for humanitarian reasons. Where in the country Ghani is staying was not mentioned.

In the recent past, the United Arab Emirates had granted protection on several occasions to high foreign state representatives with problems in their home country. Last year, the former King Juan Carlos of Spain, who was suspected of corruption, went into exile in the Emirates. Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was sentenced to five years in absentia, found refuge in Dubai in 2017.