New Delhi: Soon after the Taliban seized Kabul on Sunday, embattled President Ashraf Ghani along with National Security Adviser Hamdullah Muhib fled the country, setting the stage for the insurgents to regain power in Afghanistan 20 years after a US-led military invasion ousted them. Reports claimed that he left Tajikistan or Uzbekistan, however, the president’s office refused to comment on Ghani’s whereabouts for ‘security reasons’.

Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, lambasted Ghani saying that he left the people of Afghanistan in mess and misery and God will hold him accountable and the country will judge. Taking to Twitter, residents branded him a ‘coward’ for leaving them in chaos.”We are all banging our heads in shame”, a tweet from the verified account of the Afghan Embassy in India read.

Later, Ghani explained the reason for his exit. In a long Facebook post, the former Afghan president said he left the war-torn country to ‘avoid bloodshed’.

“Today, I came across a hard choice; I should stand to face the armed Taliban who wanted to enter the palace or leave the dear country (Afghanistan) that I dedicated my life to protecting and protecting the past twenty years”, the post said, written in Pashto and translated using Google.

Read his full post here: 

After he fled, the Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan was over. In footage obtained by Al Jazeera, Taliban leaders were seen taking control of the presidential palace in Kabul. “Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the mujahideen. They have witnessed the fruits of their efforts and their sacrifices for 20 years. Thanks to God, the war is over in the country”, Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, told Al Jazeera TV.

Hamid Karzai Appeals to Taliban

In a video message, former president Abdul Hamid Karzai said that he and other political leaders will continue their efforts to solve the issues peacefully. He also urged the Taliban to provide security and safety to Afghan citizens. “I am here in Kabul with my girls and I ask the Taliban to provide security and safety for the people,” he said in a video message.

Local Residents Fleeing Country

Fearing that the Taliban could reimpose the kind of brutal rule, scores of people even rushed on to tarmac at Kabul airport to flee Afghanistan. The main road to the Kabul airport is packed with people desperately trying to escape the country.

“I can’t believe the world abandoned Afghanistan. Our friends are going to get killed. They (Taliban) are going to kill us. Our women are not going to have any more rights,” said a woman who arrived in Delhi from Kabul. 

Brutal Taliban Rule 

During their rule from 1996-2001, the Taliban prevented women from attending school, banned them from working jobs outside of healthcare (male doctors were prohibited from seeing women), and required that women were accompanied by a male relative and wear a burqa at all times when in public.  If women broke certain rules, they were publicly whipped or executed. Religious and ethnic minorities were heavily discriminated against during Taliban rule.