Who is this man named Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, who cut and ran?
Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan to avoid the bloodshed he claimed as he left safely., as USA Today reported:
“Today I came across a tough choice,” (written in Pashto and translated using Google) “I have to face the armed Taliban who want to enter the palace or leave the country where I have dedicated my life to protecting and nurturing it for the last 20 years. If left unchecked, countless patriots would be martyred and the city of Kabul would be devastated, resulting in a major humanitarian catastrophe in the six-million-strong city.”
And, as AP via VOA reports: Ghani quietly left the sprawling presidential palace with a small coterie of confidants — and didn’t even tell other political leaders who had been negotiating a peaceful transition of power with the Taliban that he was heading for the exit. …..Abdullah Abdullah, his long-time rival who had twice buried his animosity to partner with Ghani in government, said that “God will hold him accountable” for abandoning the capital.
Saad Mohseni, the owner of Afghanistan’s popular TOLO TV said: “He left them in them lurch.”
Ghani’s destination was revealed as Tajikistan, without full details available.
Ghani grew up in Afghanistan. Foreign invasion and civil war led to the persecution of his family and forced him to remain in exile. Whilst abroad, he became a leading scholar of Political Science and Anthropology and then worked at the World Bank where he learned the tools of international development. Following the fall of the Taliban in 2001,he returned to Afghanistan to help rebuild the country. He advised interim President Karzai and served as the Finance Minister in the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan until December 2004.
During his tenure as Finance Minister, he designed a package of reforms and initiated several public investment programs that led to significant improvements in the livelihoods of ordinary Afghans across the country. He declined to join the newly elected Government in December 2004. He remained an influential voice in the political circles both in Afghanistan and abroad. He served as the chairman of the Transition Coordination Commission (TCC) in 2010 which was responsible for transferring authority from foreign to national troops. He resigned from TCC to run for president in October 2013. He was declared winner on September 22, 2014. For his life visit Columbia U
His late tweets did not predict the swift takeover of the Taliban: Rather, he even spoke of negotiations on the day he fled.
July 31:
Today was a proud day. Under the rubric of the Islamic Republic, prominent Afghan political/jihadi leaders, ulemas, women, and civil society/youth representatives convened and unanimously declared their unwavering support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
23 July:
This evening, I spoke with President Biden over a phone call. We discussed the evolving but continuing relationship between the two countries. President Biden reassured me that support for the ANDSF will continue. We have confidence that they will protect & defend Afghanistan.The U.S. decision to leave #Afghanistan is a decision moment for the Taliban, the region, and Afghans themselves. The choice ahead is clear—coalesce around an acceptable end state in Afghanistan, or continue the dangerous power-grabbing alternative.
4 May The U.S. decision to leave #Afghanistan is a decision moment for the Taliban, the region, and Afghans themselves. The choice ahead is clear—coalesce around an acceptable end state in Afghanistan, or continue the dangerous power-grabbing alternative.