After the Taliban completed its military takeover of the South Asian nation, Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani left the capital Kabul. According to news agency Reuters, Ghani left Kabul with four cars and a helicopter full of cash. It quoted Russian news agency RIA to report that Ghani had to leave some money behind as it would not all “fit in”.
“Four cars were full of money, they tried to stuff another part of the money into a helicopter, but not all of it fit. And some of the money was left lying on the tarmac,” Nikita Ishchenko, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Kabul, was quoted as saying by RIA. Ischenko cited “witnesses” as the source of his information.
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the Taliban entered the city, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed, while hundreds of Afghans desperate to leave flooded Kabul airport.
Taking to his official Facebook account, Ghani said he was faced with a ‘hard choice’ between the ‘armed Taliban’ or ‘leaving the dear country that he has dedicated his life to protecting the past 20 years’.
He wrote, “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.”
Soon after Ghani left Afghanistan, Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, said, “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.”
“We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of our country and the independence of our people,” he said. “We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we do not want to harm others.”