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On eve of takeover anniversary, Ghani defends decision to flee Afghanistan
On the eve of the anniversary of the Islamic Emirate’s takeover of Kabul, Afghanistan's former president on Sunday defended what he said was a split-second decision to flee, saying he wanted to avoid the humiliation of surrender to the insurgents.
Ashraf Ghani also told CNN that on the morning of August 15, 2021, with the IEA at the gates of the Afghan capital, he was the last one at the presidential palace after his guards had disappeared. He said the defense minister told him earlier that day that Kabul could not be defended, Associated Press reported.
Ghani had previously sought to justify his actions on the day Kabul fell but offered more details Sunday. He alleged that one of the cooks in the palace had been offered $100,000 to poison him and that he felt his immediate environment was no longer safe.
"The reason I left was because I did not want to give the Taliban (IEA) and their supporters the pleasure of yet again humiliating an Afghan president and making him sign over the legitimacy of the government," he said. "I have never been afraid."
Critics say Ghani's sudden and secret departure August 15 left the city rudderless as U.S. and NATO forces were in the final stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20 years.
Ghani also denied persistent allegations that he took tens of millions of dollars in cash with him as he and other officials fled in helicopters.
In a report issued last week, a congressional watchdog said it's unlikely Ghani and his senior advisers transported that much cash on the escape helicopters, AP reported.
"The hurried nature of their departure, the emphasis on passengers over cargo, the payload and performance limitations of the helicopters, and the consistent alignment in detailed accounts from witnesses on the ground and in the air all suggest that there was little more than $500,000 in cash on board the helicopters," wrote the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which has tried to monitor the massive U.S. spending in the country over the years.
The agency added, "It remains a strong possibility that significant amounts of U.S. currency disappeared from Afghan government property in the chaos of the Taliban (IEA) takeover, including millions from the presidential palace" and the vault of the National Directorate of Security. The report, however, said the watchdog was unable to determine how much money was stolen and by whom.
In the end, the IEA seized the capital without significant fighting last August, capping a weekslong military blitz in which they rapidly captured provincial capitals without much resistance from the increasingly demoralized Afghan security forces.
Eight Afghan migrants died after a speedboat carrying migrants capsized off Greece's eastern island of Rhodes on Friday, the Associated Press reported.
Greek authorities said that the capsizing was the result of the boat’s maneuvering to evade a patrol vessel.
A total of 18 migrants — 12 men, three women and three minors — all Afghan nationals, were rescued, Greece's coast guard said Saturday. The dead were also from Afghanistan, it said.
Some migrants remained hospitalized, with one in critical condition, authorities said.
Two Turkish citizens, ages 23 and 19, were arrested as the suspected traffickers. The boat sank after capsizing, the coast guard said.
The sinking off Rhodes was the second deadly incident involving migrants in the past week.
Seven migrants were killed and dozens were believed missing after a boat partially sank south of the island of Crete over the weekend — one of four rescue operations during which more than 200 migrants were rescued.
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Norwegian Chargé d’Affaires meets with IEA deputy foreign minister
Welcoming the diplomat’s visit to Kabul, Stanikzai underscored the importance of political relations between Afghanistan and Norway, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The Norwegian Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan, Per Albert Ilsaas, on Saturday met with IEA’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, in Kabul.
Welcoming the diplomat’s visit to Kabul, Stanikzai underscored the importance of political relations between Afghanistan and Norway, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
In addition to focusing on bilateral political, humanitarian, and other pertinent issues, the two sides expressed hope that continued engagement would lead to constructive solutions to related issues.
This comes two weeks after the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi expressed disappointment regarding the decision by the Norwegian government to downgrade diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.
Balkhi said in a post on X that such decisions should not be linked with internal affairs of other countries.
“Diplomatic engagement is most effective when it fosters mutual understanding and respect, even amidst differing viewpoints,” he stated.
“Access to consular services is a fundamental right of all nationals. We strongly urge all parties to prioritize this principle in the spirit of international cooperation,” he added.
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A new polio vaccination campaign is set to launch in Afghanistan
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not been eradicated.
The “Afghanistan Polio-Free” organization announced that a new round of polio vaccinations will begin on Monday, December 23, in various provinces of Afghanistan.
The organization did not specify which provinces will be targeted or how long the vaccination campaign will last.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not been eradicated.
On December 4, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement reporting a 283% increase in polio cases in Afghanistan. According to the WHO, the number of positive environmental samples for wild poliovirus type 1 in Afghanistan in 2024 reached 84, compared to 62 cases in 2023.
The Ministry of Public Health claimed in November 2024 that no new cases of polio had been reported in Afghanistan for the year.
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