Ashraf Ghani's brother pledges allegiance to Taliban: Report

Reports said former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani’s brother Hashmat Ghani has decided to support the Taliban.

Ghani reportedly pledged his allegiance to the Taliban in the presence of Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani who is the leader of the Taliban-backed Haqqani Network.

Taliban leaders have been involved in negotiations with leaders in Afghanistan over government formation in the country after taking control of the capital last Sunday.

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In a tweet earlier, Hashmat Ghani had said: "While we have to accept Taliban, it should not be used as the only reason to abandon people of Afghanistan by the West."

"Half of our population are dependent on daily wages. Freezing their money at the time of need could spell disaster, not just in Afghanistan but also for the region," the former president's brother added.

Hashmat Ghani had said he was in "nonstop meetings" with Taliban leadership in order to ensure physical and mental security for Afghans as thousands gathered at Kabul airport in the past week trying to flee the Taliban rule.

The former president's brother had added earlier that,"Taliban are well capable of bringing security", however, he added that running a functional government requires the collaboration of "younger educated Afghans".

"The so-called expired politicians should be sidelined completely so failed experience of coalition government is not repeated," he added.

Former president Ashraf Ghani had fled to UAE after the Taliban entered Kabul last Sunday saying he had left in order to spare the country more bloodshed.

However, Ghani said he was "in talks" to return home even as US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman said, "he is no longer a figure in Afghanistan".

"I was expelled from Afghanistan in such a way that I didn't even get the chance to take my slippers off my feet and pull on my boots," Ghani said as he explained that he arrived in the UAE empty-handed.

(With inputs from Agencies)