Afghanistan's Tajikistan ambassador Mohammad Zahir declares himself as first deputy head

After Ashraf Ghani fled the war-torn country, a power tussle could be seen in Afghanistan. In the latest development, Mohammad Zahir Aghbar, Afghanistan's ambassador to Tajikistan, on Wednesday, announced himself as first deputy head of the country. This comes after Afghan's First Vice President Amrullah Saleh declared himself as the "legitimate caretaker President." Citing Afghanistan constitution, Saleh said that states "in the absence, escape or death of the president, the first vice president becomes the caretaker."

Tajikistan ambassador also cites Afghan constitution for Saleh's position

According to a report by Afghanistan based news channel, TOLO News, the Tajikistan ambassador came in the support of Afghanistan's first vice president and reiterated the same reason behind Saleh's current positioning. However, Mohammad Zahir's move was apprehended as his long desire to become the deputy president of the country. In his first comments after Ghani left Afghanistan, in a Facebook post, he said that he left the country in order to avoid "bloodshed" as Kabul fell to the Taliban and terrorists entered the Afghanistan presidential palace. 

Russian embassy: Ghani fled with cars full of cash

However, irrespective of Ghani's claim, the Russian embassy in Kabul, said Ghani fled from Kabul with four cars and a helicopter full of cash. The report quoted embassy spokesman Nikita Ishchenko as saying that "the collapse of the regime ... is most eloquently characterized by how Ghani escaped from Afghanistan: four cars were filled with money, they tried to shove another part of the money into a helicopter, but not everything fit. And some of the money was left lying on the tarmac." However, the embassy spokesman failed to profer any concrete evidence to support her allegations against Ghani. 

Afghan Defense Minister urges Interpol to arrest Ghani

Meanwhile, Afghan Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi called on Interpol to arrest President Ashraf Ghani, who abdicated and fled from Afghanistan, for "selling out the motherland." "Those trading and selling out their motherland should be punished and arrested," Mohammadi wrote on Twitter, adding hashtag #InterpolArrestGhani.

On Wednesday, the Afghan embassy in Tajikistan also requested Interpol to detain Ghani on embezzlement charges. It is worth noting that the Taliban entered Kabul on Sunday and took control of the presidential palace. The terrorist group is now everywhere in the capital, walking the streets of Kabul with ease and with "American weapons in hands."

(With inputs from ANI)

(Image Credit: AP/ @E_Aghbar/ @VirajSinghIFS/ Twitter)