Ex-Afghan leader says he fled nation to 'save Kabul'

KABUL • Former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani said he fled the country to prevent the destruction of Kabul as Taliban fighters advanced on the capital, offering the most detailed defence of his actions since the government's collapse in August.

Mr Ghani, speaking to the BBC in an interview broadcast on Thursday - his first since he fled - said his sudden departure was the hardest decision he has made.

He noted that even in the hours before he boarded a helicopter and was spirited out of the country, he did not know it would be his last day in his homeland.

The Taliban had largely surrounded Kabul and panic gripped the city when Mr Ghani, along with his wife and close associates, fled on the afternoon of Aug 15.

Mr Ghani told BBC's Radio 4 that if he had taken "a stand", the presidential palace security guards would have been killed.

"And they were not capable of defending me," he added.

"Two different factions of the Taliban were closing in from two different directions," he said. "The possibility of a massive conflict between them that would destroy the city of five million and bring havoc to the people was enormous."

The decision to leave was frenzied, he said, and he was not given "more than two minutes" to get ready for the flight out of the country. More than three months later, he is well aware of the criticisms from many corners that he abandoned his nation when he was needed most.

"My life's work has been destroyed," he said. "My values had been trampled on. And I have been made a scapegoat."

But he once again defended his actions. "I had to sacrifice myself in order to save Kabul," he said.

The Taliban took full control of Kabul hours after Mr Ghani's escape and the collapse of his security forces. Three days later, Mr Ghani resurfaced in the United Arab Emirates, where he has been living since.

Mr Ghani also denied accusations that he stole millions of dollars while fleeing the country.

The former president was interviewed on BBC by Mr Nick Carter, former chief of the British Armed Forces. In the edited broadcast, Mr Ghani expanded on an apology, written in English, that he posted on Twitter in September. At the time, his apology was not received warmly by Afghans, who were enraged by his sudden escape.

Some have accused him of betraying the nation.

The Taliban government has shown little interest in adopting the achievements of the past two decades. It has imposed curbs on free press and women's rights, as well as marginalised minorities.

The Taliban has also summarily executed or caused the disappearance of dozens of the former government's security forces since it seized power in August, according to human rights groups.

Afghanistan's economy is on the verge of collapse. Millions of Afghans do not have enough to eat, and one million children could starve to death this winter.

This all could have been avoided if Mr Ghani had not abandoned Afghans at a very critical moment and had agreed to an orderly transition of power, experts and some Western officials said.

Critics have blamed Mr Ghani for the current economic crisis in Afghanistan, saying his decision to flee the country derailed a last-ditch deal that could have prevented a complete takeover of the government by the Taliban and the sanctions that came after.

But Mr Ghani criticised the United States for negotiating directly with the Taliban without involving the Afghan government, saying the release of thousands of Taliban prisoners - part of the deal - emboldened the insurgents. "I was painted in total black," he said, adding that the Afghan government was never given a chance to deal directly with the Taliban.

"Ambassador Khalilzad sat down with them," he said, referring to former US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad. "It became an American issue. Not an Afghan issue."

The Afghan government and Taliban negotiators did meet beginning in late 2020 in Doha, Qatar, and established principles and procedures to guide peace negotiations, but those talks quickly stalled after months of bureaucratic hang-ups and escalating violence in Afghanistan.

NYTIMES