Self-exiled from Afghanistan since the Taliban military offensive took the capital Kabul on Sunday (15), the fate of President Ashraf Ghani has been revealed: he is in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with his family, he declared Wednesday (18) the country of the Persian Gulf.
“The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation confirms that the country has hosted President Ashraf Ghani and his family on humanitarian grounds,” the agency said in a statement.
Ashraf Ghani, 72, has ruled the country since 2014, and fled the country when the Taliban surrounded the capital, even before the fundamentalist group invaded the city.
The rebels’ record is not favorable to Ghani. The first time it took power, in 1996, after winning a civil war, the Taliban kidnapped former President Mohammad Najibullah, linked to the Soviets who occupied the country in the 1980s, cut its members off and dragged his corpse attached to a truck through the streets of the capital.
This time, the Taliban are trying to convey an image of moderation and claim that they will not commit the atrocities of the past.