Afghan ex-president Ghani apologises for leaving 'abruptly', denies taking 'millions of cash' with him

Days after leaving Afghanistan “abruptly” following the hostile takeover of Kabul by the Taliban insurgents, former president Ashraf Ghani apologised to the Afghan people saying that “it was the only way to keep the guns silent and save Kabul and her 6 million citizens”.

In a statement released on Twitter on Wednesday, Ghani said leaving Kabul was "the most difficult decision of my life", while adding that he did so on theadvice of the presidential palace security officials.

“I owe the Afghan people an explanation for leaving Kabul abruptly on August 15th after Taliban unexpectedly. entered the city. I left at the urging of the palace security who advised me that to remain risked setting off the same horrific street-to-street fighting the city had suffered during the civil war of the 1990s.”

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“Leaving Kabul was the most difficult decision of my life, but I believed it was the only way to keep the guns silent and save Kabul and her 6 million citizens. I have devoted 20 years of my life to helping the Afghan people work toward building a democratic, prosperous, and sovereign state — it was never my intent to abandon the people or that vision,” he said.

Ghani, along with his ministers, fled Afghanistan on August 15 after the Taliban took control of Kabul. Days after leaving Afghanistan, Ghani and his family were granted asylum in the United Arab Emirates on ‘humanitarian grounds'.

Responding to the claims of Nikita Ishchenko, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Kabul, that he left Afghanistan with four cars and a helicopter full of cash belonging to Afghan people, Ghani said, “These charges are completely and categorically false. Corruption is a plague that has crippled our country for decades and fighting corruption has been a central focus of my efforts as president. I inherited a monster that could not easily or quickly be defeated.”

He said that he would welcome any official audit or investigation under the UN to verify his claims.

“My wife and I have been scrupulous in our personal finances. I have publicly declared all of my assets. My wife's family inheritance has also been disclosed and remains listed in her home country of Lebanon. I welcome an official audit or financial investigation under UN auspices or any other appropriate independent body to prove the veracity of my statements here,” he said.

Ghani then ended the statement, saying, “I offer my profound appreciation and respect for the sacrifice of all Afghans, especially our Afghan soldiers and their families, through the last forty years. It is with deep and profound regret that my own chapter ended in similar tragedy to my predecessors —without ensuring stability and prosperity. I apologize to the Afghan people that I could not make it end differently. My commitment to the Afghan people has never wavered and will guide me for the rest of my life.”