Afghan Central Bank Chief Blames President Ashraf Ghani For Taliban Takeover
The Chief of Afghanistan Central Bank Ajmal Ahmady fled the country. He shared all his thoughts on social media and questioned the officials. During the time of crisis, the Afghan security did not take necessary actions nor did President Ashraf Ghani try to negotiate. In a series of tweets, he took out all the frustration over the lack of responsibility and loyalty by the officials.
In a long Twitter thread, Ahmady gave a detailed account of the series of events that happened in Afghanistan in the past few days and how the irresponsible nature of the officials led to the capture of the country. “The collapse of the Government in Afghanistan this past week was so swift and complete - it was disorienting and difficult to comprehend,” he started the post.
Ahmady’s Tweets
“On Friday, August 6th, Ziranj fell. Over the next 6 days, a number of other provinces fell - particularly in the north. There were multiple rumors that directions to not fight were somehow coming from above.” He explained how everything happened so quickly and one after the other, each city kept falling under Taliban rule.
1/The collapse of the Government in Afghanistan this past week was so swift and complete - it was disorienting and difficult to comprehend.
— Ajmal Ahmady (@aahmady) August 16, 2021
This is how the events seemed to proceed from my perspective as Central Bank Governor.
“I attended my normal meetings. Ghazni fell in the morning. I left work, and by the time I went home - Herat, Kandahar, and Baghdis also fell. Helmand was also under serious attack. On Saturday night, my family called to say that most government had already left. I was dumbfounded.”
All the ministers were leaving. VP Danish had left by then and later on Sunday, President Ghani fled the country as well. There was no in charge, no authority, no one to even bat an eye when the Taliban entered Kabul. It was like a free welcome to the terrorist group.
The acting governor of Afghanistan's central bank Ahmady said he was suspicious of the whole thing. “Seems difficult to believe, but there remains a suspicion as to why ANSF left posts so quickly. There is something left unexplained.”
Chaos at the Airport
Ahmady spoke about his horror-filled flight experience. He said that given the state of Kabul, he was sure that flights will get canceled. “I secured a Kam Air flight Sunday at 7 pm. Then the floor fell: the President had already left”
“I knew right then my flight would be cancelled and there would be chaos. As expected employees & the military left posts. Everyone ran through gates to on Kam Air flight. 300+ passengers boarded for a 100-seat plane. The plane had no fuel or pilot. We all hoped it would depart”
“There was a rush. Some shots were fired. Somehow, my close colleagues pushed me on board.” Afghan officials, the ministers, and President included left the country without any planning. They did not inform anyone else and just left quietly.
Unfortunately, things ended the way they did. “It did not have to end this way. I am disgusted by the lack of any planning by Afghan leadership,” he wrote.
Failure of Afghan Leadership
“During last days, I feared not only risks related to Taliban, but fear of transition period once there is no chain of command. Once the president’s departure was announced, I knew within minutes chaos would follow. I cannot forgive him for creating that without a transition plan”, wrote Ahmady.
Sadly, the officials did not do anything. They were weak and inexperienced. Especially key figures like Fazly and Mohib did not know anything and failed in performing their duties. It was also a failure on the President’s part as he did not recognize such weaknesses. “He himself had great ideas but poor execution. If I contributed to that, I take my share of the blame.”
