After the Taliban on Tuesday announced an acting government to run the affairs in Afghanistan, former president Ashraf Ghani has given an explanation for leaving Kabul abruptly on August 15.
In a statement, Ghani said leaving Kabul was the most difficult decision of his life, however, he said it was the only way to keep "guns silent and save Kabul and her 6 million citizens". The former Afghan president also addressed "baseless allegetions" such as he left with "millions of dollars belonging to Afghan people". "These charges are completely and categorically false," he added.
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I owe the Afghan people an explanation for leaving Kabul abruptly on August 15th after Taliban unexpectedly entered the city. I left at the urging of the palace security who advised me that to remain risked setting off the same horrific street to street fighting the city had suffered during the Civil War of the 1990s. 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 toward building a democratic, prosperous, and sovereign state-it was never my intent to abandon the people or that vision.
Now is not the moment for a long assessment of the events leading up to my departure-I will address them in detail in the near 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. These charges are completely and categorically false. Corruption is a plague that has crippled our country for decades and fighting corruption has been a central focus of my efforts as president, I inherited a monster that could not easily or quickly be defeated.
My wife and I have been scrupulous in our personal finances. I have publicly declared all of my assets. My wife's family inheritance has also been disclosed and remains listed in her home country of Lebanon. I welcome an official audit or financial investigation under UN auspices or any other appropriate independent body to prove the veracity of my statements here. My close aides are ready to submit their finances to public audit, and I would encourage and urge other former senior officials and political figures to do the same.
Throughout my life, I have firmly believed that the formula of a democratic republic was the only way forward for a sovereign, peaceful, prosperous Afghanistan. Throughout my service to the country, the boundaries of my actions have always been defined and guided by the 2004 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It provides the platforms for dialogue where our differences can be managed through give and take and persuasion, and where the acceptance of a common vision for the future can be defined and embraced. Our Afghan tradition of Jirga and Shura is deeply egalitarian and participatory and can provide a platform for peaceful outcomes for the country moving forward.
I offer my profound appreciation and respect for the sacrifice of all Afghans, especially our Afghan soldiers and their families, through the last forty 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 apologize 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.
Meanwhile, hours after the announcement of the new Afghanistan cabinet, Taliban's religious leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a statement saying the new cabinet will start its work immediately.
"As a caretaker and committed cabinet has been announced by the authorities of the Islamic Emirate to control and run the affairs of the country which will start functioning at the earliest, I assure all the countrymen that the figures will work hard towards upholding Islamic rules and Sharia law in the country, protecting the country's highest interests, securing Afghanistan's borders, and to ensuring lasting peace, prosperity and development," Akhundzada said.
The statement also said the new government remains committed to protecting human rights.
"The Islamic Emirate will take serious and effective steps towards protecting human rights, the rights of minorities as well as the rights of the underprivileged groups within the framework of the demands of the sacred religion of Islam," read the statement.
