Afghanistan leaders blame Ashraf Ghani for fleeing country amid negotiations with Taliban

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani surrendered power and fled from the country on Sunday as the Taliban took control of Kabul. Ghani left the presidential palace with his close confidants without informing any other political leaders. His exit came as a blow for leaders who had been negotiating a peaceful transition of power with the Taliban. Afghan leaders and envoys have since raised voices against their President slipping out of the country.

Ghani’s long-time rival Abdullah Abdullah, said that “God will hold him accountable” for abandoning the capital in such a time. Ghani’s destination remains unknown. However, Ghani took to social media to claim that he left the country to save lives. “If I had stayed, countless of my countrymen would be martyred and Kabul would face destruction and turn into ruins that could result to a human catastrophe for its six million residents,” Ghani wrote.

Leaders critical of Ghani's decision to flee

Abdullah, along with former President Hamid Karzai, had pleaded with Ghani to consider compromise. Both the leaders were blindsided by the hasty departure. Saad Mohseni, the owner of Afghanistan’s popular TOLO TV said that the two Afghan leaders were hoping that Ghani would negotiate a peaceful transition with the Taliban instead of abandoning the country. He further added that Karzai had even posted a message to the nation on his Facebook page, reassuring Kabul residents that the leadership had a plan to negotiate with the Taliban.

Ghani’s critics are now pointing at his heavy-handed leadership style for the rapid disintegration of the Afghan army and an anti-Taliban alliance of warlords. Ghani was often termed as arrogant by leaders as he rarely heeded the advice of his government and even publicly criticize anyone who challenged him or his decisions. Ghani was accused by ethnic minorities of alienating certain sides. The Afghan President who fled was also known to have taken an anger management course during the campaign for the presidency in 2014 and multiple tribal elders in meetings have spoken of his verbal lashings. Ghani, was never the most popular leader among the Afghan citizens and his fleeing the country during such a time have only widened the gap to him.

Ashraf Ghani’s political career

The 72-year-old leader spent most of his career overseas as a student and academic before returning to his home country in 2002. Following his arrival, Ghani positioned himself as an economic expert. Ghani, who Afghanistan’s crumbling and corrupt economy, believed that his World Bank background could be a possible solution. Ghani became the finance minister for two years until 2004. He then survived cancer and in 2014, fought his first presidential race.

The election was deeply criticized for being ‘flawed’ and allegations of widespread fraud was launched. Both Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah claimed victory in the election before the United States brokered a compromise by creating a new position of chief executive for Abdullah. In 2019, Ghani once again found himself stuck in accusations of deep corruption as both him and Abdullah declared themselves president. Abdullah went on to become head of the National Reconciliation Council which brought Afghanistan’s warlords and political leaders together against the Taliban. Now, Ghani has fled the country as an ‘isolated’ leader and the Taliban has taken control of Kabul.

IMAGE: AP