Afghanistan’s deposed President Ashraf Ghani said Wednesday that he fled the country to prevent further bloodshed and denied reports he took millions in cash with him as the Taliban made its way into Kabul.
Ghani, who is in the United Arab Emirates, said the allegations he left with the money were “completely baseless” and said it was all “political and personality assassination.”
“You can find out from custom officials and other authorities that the [allegations] were baseless,” he said.
Multiple media outlets, sourcing Russian Embassy spokesman Nikita Ischenko and Afghan Ambassador to Tajikistan Mohammad Zahir Agbar, reported that Ghani took as much money as he could before leaving the country.
“The collapse of the regime … is most eloquently characterized by how Ghani escaped from Afghanistan: Four cars were filled with money; they tried to shove another part of the money into a helicopter, but not everything fit. And some of the money was left lying on the tarmac,” Ischenko said.
Agbar claimed Ghani took $169 million with him.
Speaking from exile, Ghani also said he left Afghanistan to curb the violence and prevent an even bigger disaster.
“I am not fearful of an honorable death, and dishonoring Afghanistan was not acceptable to me, but I had to,” he said. “I was taken out of Afghanistan to avoid bloodshed and the destruction of Afghanistan.” Ghani added that his quick exit forced him to leave behind his main assets and other “confidential documents,” though he did not provide details.
Ghani has been widely criticized for abandoning his country on Sunday as the capital city fell to the Taliban.
The Taliban insisted that they have changed and won’t impose the same intense restrictions they did when they were previously in charge, which included all but eliminating women’s rights, carrying out public executions, and making the country a safe space for terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda. The Taliban’s use of violence to silence protesters over the weekend seemed to contradict their claims.
Back home, President Joe Biden has faced widespread criticism for his initial silence as the Taliban captured Kabul and chaos erupted at the city’s international airport, where the United States tried to evacuate thousands of Afghans who helped America’s military during the 20-year war.
Biden also had some choice words for Ghani.
“We planned for every contingency, but I always promised the American people that I would be straight with you. The truth is this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated,” Biden said in a speech from the White House, offering that he had been assured by Ghani that the Western-trained and equipped Afghan troops would stand their ground.
“Mr. Ghani insisted the Afghan forces would fight, but obviously, he was wrong,” Biden said.
Biden announced a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in April. Almost immediately, the Taliban started making their way across the country, creating devastation and havoc along the way. The speed of the Taliban’s military blitz blindsided U.S. officials who had not anticipated that Kabul would fall so quickly. Earlier U.S. intelligence reports seemed to suggest that the Western-trained Afghan army could stop advancing Taliban forces from taking Kabul for at least another 90 days.
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The stunning turn of events took place just weeks before the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that precipitated America’s involvement in Afghanistan.
