“WELCOMED ASHRAF GHANI, FAMILY ON HUMANITARIAN GROUNDS”: UAE

Wed 18 August 2021:

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has arrived in the United Arab Emirates, according to the UAE administration, after fleeing his nation as Taliban forces advanced on Kabul.

“The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement early Wednesday evening local time.

Ghani left Afghanistan on Sunday evening without making any announcements or providing clear information about his whereabouts. Ghani said he escaped to avoid “a flood of bloodshed.” when the Taliban entered the presidential mansion and declared the war “finished.”

Ghani, US-trained anthropologist also holds a doctorate from Columbia University and is a former World Bank employee. He returned home after the invasion of US and NATO troops in 2001 led to the fall of the Taliban government.

Ghani later gave up his US citizenship to contest the presidential elections of 2014 and succeeded Hamid Karzai as president.

In the 2014 election, Ghani faced accusations of widespread, government-assisted fraud by his rival, Abdullah. After a months-long process that included a runoff and a United Nations-backed audit of all votes cast in the second round, Ghani became the president and Abdullah was given the new title of chief executive in a national unity government.

The 2019 polls were also mired with accusations of fraud, and once again faced months of contention.

After 20 years of war, and U.S. training and equipping of the Afghan military, the Taliban were able to declare complete control of the country within 10 days of seizing their first provincial capital.

File Photo

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