WAR: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani escapes to UAE
President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan has sought asylum in the United Arab Emirates, according to the Gulf state
Mr. Ghani fled Afghanistan over the weekend as the Taliban marched on Kabul, the country’s capital.
The UAE’s foreign ministry stated that Mr Ghani and his family were welcomed on humanitarian grounds.
Mr Ghani said he left Afghanistan to avoid bloodshed and what he called a “huge disaster” in a video address later on Wednesday.
He also denied rumors that he traveled to the UAE with a large sum of money in his possession, calling them “completely baseless” and “lies.”
Other Afghan lawmakers have slammed Mr. Ghani’s decision to leave the country.
Abdullah Abdullah, head of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, said, “God will hold him accountable, and the public will also judge.”
In a speech on Monday, US President Joe Biden chastised Afghanistan’s government for fleeing.
The US, on the other hand, has continued to refer to “President Ghani,” despite the fact that the State Department has stated that there has been no legal turnover of power.
Mr. Ghani was first elected in 2014 and re-elected in February 2020.
He dismissed fears of a Taliban military victory in an interview with the BBC earlier this year. “It’s not Vietnam here. The government is not on the verge of toppling “he stated.
The UAE has a history of providing safe harbor to deposed or fugitive presidents from other countries. In the 1990s, Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto relocated to Dubai and later returned to power.
Spain’s former King Carlos moved there last year as well.
However, the UAE, which hosts a substantial number of Afghan and Pakistani guest workers, will not want its territory to be exploited as a political rallying point.
It was one of only three countries to recognize the former hardline Taliban regime, which was toppled in 2001, together with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Kabul Exodus
IMAGE SOURCEUS AIR MOBILITY COMMAND
The faces, mostly male but with some female and child faces, stare up at the camera, their expressions a mix of concern and relief.
The photograph was first received by Defense One, a US defense analytical website, but the US Air Mobility Command public affairs office publicized it on Tuesday.
According to Defense One, terrified bystanders scrambled up the loading ramp on Sunday, but the crew felt it was preferable to take off rather than force the Afghans off the plane.
The number of passengers onboard, 640, is among the greatest ever carried by a C-17 Globemaster.
It’s getting close to breaking the record for the most people transported by any plane, which was set in 1991 by an Israeli Boeing 747 carrying over 1,000 Jewish migrants from Ethiopia.
According to Defense One, the flight from Kabul to Qatar was one of several that successfully evacuated hundreds of Afghans from Kabul.
The scene contrasts with the chaotic photographs that surfaced from Kabul airport on Monday after it was seized by Afghans frightened of Taliban rule. Soldiers from the United States tried to maintain control.
Hundreds of Afghans ran alongside the moving aircraft, some clinging to the side, according to a photo taken on Monday. According to local media accounts, at least two people died when the plane took off.
Some have questioned why the airport is primarily populated by men.
One argument is that many women have stayed indoors because they are afraid of how the Taliban may treat them.
Another reason is that many families want their guys to depart first so that they may provide financial assistance from outside Afghanistan and finally find a method to get their loved ones out of the country.
While the airlifts may be appreciated by many, they may be a drop in the bucket compared to the number of people who feel driven to flee because of the Taliban.
The UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, has urged governments not to deport Afghans who were previously considered unsuitable for protection.
Since the beginning of the year, it is estimated that 550,000 Afghans have been internally displaced by the violence.
According to Caroline Van Buren, the UNHCR’s Afghanistan representative, between 20,000 and 30,000 people are reported to be fleeing across borders every week. As Taliban forces closed in, government data suggest that 120,000 people moved to Kabul.
Many of people who are at danger have served for US-led forces, most notably as translators or contractors. However, the Taliban’s treatment of women during its prior leadership in the 1990s, as well as its use of brutal punishments, are compelling reasons to flee.
The White House revealed a plan in early August to allow thousands of Afghans with ties to the US to resettle there. President Joe Biden announced $500 million (£362 million) in aid for Afghan refugees on Monday.
Officials say the US has transported 2,000 Afghans out of the country through its Special Immigrant Visa program and plans to transport thousands more.
Other countries, such as Germany, are also pitching in. Germany may need to evacuate 10,000 people, including 2,500 support workers, according to Chancellor Angela Merkel.
On Sunday, 150 British nationals were airlifted out, according to UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
The United Kingdom expelled 289 Afghans last week. Several hundred more are expected to flee in the next 24 hours, according to him.
However, the unrest in Afghanistan has sparked fears in Europe of a new migrant inflow. Turkey’s choice to beef up security along its long border with Iran, where it is erecting a concrete wall, is a striking example.
