Ashraf Ghani is in the UAE "No longer a figure in Afghanistan"
Afghan President Ghani is suspected of being abandoned by the United States
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on the 18th that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, currently in the United Arab Emirates, is no longer an influential "person" in Afghanistan.
Earlier in the day, Ghani used social media to release a video speech to support the Afghan Taliban in negotiations with Afghan politicians, saying that he will return to China in the near future.
"I was forced to leave Afghanistan"
Ghani had received support from the United States and flew out of Afghanistan on the 15th when the Taliban took control of the capital, Kabul, without indicating whether to resign.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the 18th that the UAE has taken Ghani and his family in for humanitarian reasons.
Gani later uploaded a video speech on his personal Facebook page.
This is his first appearance after leaving Afghanistan.
He said: "Later I will tell you the details of the day when Kabul fell... I was forced to leave Afghanistan because I did not want to cause bloodshed in Kabul."
According to Ghani, several Taliban representatives previously promised that the Taliban would not enter Kabul, but they surrounded the presidential palace in advance.
"Members of the security forces told me that there was a conspiracy," Ghani said in the video. "Last Sunday (15th), I worked at the Presidential Palace as usual. At noon, I went to the Ministry of Defense to assess the situation in Kabul. Suddenly, my The guards arrived, stopped a big conspiracy and rescued me." He didn't explain more.
Ghani claims to return to Afghanistan in the near future
Ghani said that he is negotiating with relevant parties and will return to his country in the near future to continue to serve the Afghan people.
He supported the Taliban's negotiations with former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other officials, hoping to succeed.
According to Agence France-Presse, in addition to Karzai, Taliban representative Anas Haqqani also met with Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghanistan High Commission for National Reconciliation.
Regarding the video speech of Ghani, the "No. 2 figure" of the US State Department Sherman answered a question at a press conference on the 18th, saying: "We saw the UAE's statement this morning that the UAE welcomes Ghani. That's it. Ghani No longer a character in Afghanistan."
Gani denied fleeing with money in the video
Ghani said in a video speech that the accusation that he left Afghanistan with a large amount of money was "untrue" and a "baseless lie."
The Afghan ambassador to Tajikistan, Mohamed Zahir Agbar, held a press conference in the Tajik capital Dushanbe earlier on the 18th, accusing Ghani of withdrawing US$169 million from the treasury.
Agobar called on Vice President Amrullah Saleh to become president.
He said: "According to the Constitution, if the President flees or dies, the Vice President will perform the duties of the President."
Saleh is now teaming up with Ahmed Masood, son of former Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Masood, to rally a group of people in Panjshir Province, northeastern Afghanistan, to resist the Taliban attack.
According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, anti-Taliban forces have retaken the Charikar area of Parwan province north of Kabul, cutting off Kabul’s main traffic route to Mazar-i-Sharif, the largest city in the north.
Little Massoud published an article in the Washington Post, calling on Western countries to provide them with arms, ammunition, and logistics support.
Text/Photo courtesy of Xinhua News Agency/Visual China
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Biden: US troops will stay in Afghanistan until all Americans withdraw
US President Biden said on the 18th that US troops will stay in Afghanistan until all Americans withdraw.
In an interview with ABC on the same day, Biden stated that the US is trying to withdraw all Americans from Afghanistan before August 31; if the evacuation is not completed by then, the US military will continue to stay in the country until all Americans are withdrawn.
He also said that the current Afghan Taliban allows Americans to evacuate, but the Afghans who had previously cooperated with the United States encountered difficulties in evacuation.
US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman said at a press conference that day that the US had noticed reports that the Taliban were obstructing Afghans from going to the airport.
She said that the Taliban’s move violated its commitment to the US, and the US is communicating with the Taliban.
Pentagon spokesman Kirby said on the 18th that US military planes had withdrawn about 2,000 people from Afghanistan in the past 24 hours.
Austin said that there is still a gap between the number of evacuated people and expectations.
The US Department of Defense said on the 17th that the US military can withdraw 5,000 to 9,000 people per day under optimal conditions.
According to US media reports, there are still more than 10,000 Americans stranded in Afghanistan.
Biden announced in April this year that the U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan will begin to withdraw on May 1 and will withdraw completely before September 11.
In July he also stated that the US military mission in Afghanistan will end on August 31.
On August 15, the Taliban entered and controlled Kabul, the capital of Algeria, and declared "the end of the war."
Text/Xinhua News Agency
Related
The International Monetary Fund temporarily
Freeze Afghanistan Special Drawing Rights
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on the 18th that it will temporarily freeze the current value of approximately US$440 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) originally scheduled to be issued to Afghanistan on the 23rd.
A spokesperson for the organization said in an email statement that the international community currently lacks clarity in recognizing the Afghan government, "therefore, the country cannot obtain special drawing rights or other resources of the International Monetary Fund."
The spokesperson added: "The International Monetary Fund has always been guided by the views of the international community."
Special drawing rights are an international reserve asset established and issued by the International Monetary Fund in 1969 to make up for insufficient official reserves of member countries.
The International Monetary Fund approved the largest new round of universal allocation of special drawing rights since its establishment on the 2nd of this month, with a total of 650 billion US dollars.
According to Reuters, the International Monetary Fund made the above decision under pressure from the United States.
A U.S. Treasury official who asked not to be named disclosed that the U.S. is taking measures to prevent the Afghan Taliban from obtaining special drawing rights, but did not elaborate.
Jack Sullivan, National Security Affairs Assistant to the President of the United States, said that Kabul is currently "chaotic," and it is too early to decide whether to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
Reuters analyzed that the United States has imposed economic sanctions on the Taliban for a long time. If other countries are willing to accept the Taliban's exchange of special drawing rights for foreign exchange, it may be hindered by the United States.
Even if Afghanistan can regain special drawing rights, it will be difficult for the Taliban to use this part of the funds.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, Ajmal Ahmadi, said on social media Twitter that the Central Bank of Afghanistan holds approximately US$9 billion in foreign exchange reserves, of which approximately US$7 billion is deposited in the United States.
A U.S. government official told AFP reporters that the U.S. will not transfer the assets of the Afghan central bank in the country to the Taliban.
The Afghan economy relies heavily on foreign aid.
According to data released by the World Bank, the total foreign aid received by Afghanistan in 2020 will account for 42.9% of its GDP.
Text/Xinhua News Agency