DUBAI – Former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, who escaped from the country in August as the Taliban took control of Kabul, apologised Wednesday to the Afghan people for abandoning them.
In a statement shared on Twitter, Ghani said he left Afghanistan at the urging of the palace security in order to avoid bloodshed in the country, and again rejected allegations of fleeing with millions of dollars from the treasury.
“I owe the Afghan people an explanation for leaving Kabul abruptly on August 15 after the Taliban expectedly entered the city,” he wrote in the statement.
“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 towards building a democratic, prosperous, and sovereign state — it was never my intent to abandon the people or that vision.”
Ghan further said that he will address the details of his departure and the events that led to the decision in the coming future.
“But I must now address baseless allegations that as I left Kabul, I took with me millions of dollars belonging to the Afghan people,” he said, besides terming the charges as “completely and categorically false”.
Statement 8 September 2021 pic.twitter.com/5yKXWIdLfM
— Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) September 8, 2021
Ghani said that he profoundly hails and respects the sacrifices rendered by people of Afghanistan in the last 40 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 apologise 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.”
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