KABUL: The Taliban didn’t take the Afghan capital, they were welcomed, says the one who apparently gave the greeting.
In a meeting, previous Afghan president Hamid Karzai offered a portion of the initial experiences into the mystery and unexpected flight of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and how he came to welcome the Taliban into the city to ensure the populace with the goal that the nation doesn’t fall into turmoil.
At the point when Ghani left, his security authorities likewise left. Guard serve Bismillah Khan even inquired as to whether he needed to leave Kabul when Karzai reached him to know what remainders of the public authority actually remained. It turned out there were none. Not even the Kabul police boss had remained.
Karzai, who was the country’s leader for quite some time later the Taliban were first removed right after the 9/11 assaults, wouldn’t leave.
In a wide-running meeting at his tree-lined compound in the focal point of the city where he resides with his significant other and little youngsters, Karzai was determined that Ghani’s flight abandoned a somewhat late arrangement zeroed in on the Taliban’s entrance into the capital.
He and Abdullah, the public authority’s central mediator, had been working with the Taliban administration in Doha on an arranged consent to permit the civilian army to enter the capital under controlled conditions. The commencement to a potential arrangement started on Aug 14, the day preceding the Taliban came to drive.
Karzai and Abdullah met Ghani, and they concurred that they would leave for Doha the following day with a rundown of 15 others to arrange a power-sharing understanding. The Taliban were at that point on the edges of Kabul, yet Karzai said the authority in Qatar guaranteed the guerilla power would stay outside the city until the arrangement was struck.
Right off the bat the morning of Aug 15, Karzai said, he held back to draw up the rundown. The capital was uneasy, tense. Bits of gossip were twirling about a Taliban takeover. Karzai called Doha. He was told the Taliban would not enter the city.
Around early afternoon, the Taliban called to say that “the public authority should remain in its positions and ought not move (as) they have no aim to (go) into the city,” Karzai said.
By around 2:45pm, however, it became evident Ghani had escaped the city. Karzai called the protection serve, called the inside serve, looked for the Kabul police boss. Everybody was no more.
Ghani’s own insurance unit’s vice president called Karzai to come to the castle and assume control over the administration. He declined, saying lawfully he reserved no option to the work. Rather the previous president chose “to make a public, broadcast message, with his kids next to him so the Afghan public realize that we are for the most part here”.
Karzai was resolved that there would have been an arrangement for a serene change had Ghani stayed in Kabul.
Today, Karzai routinely meets individuals from the Taliban initiative and says the world should draw in with them. “Similarly significant,” he said, “is that Afghans need to meet up”.
He added: “A finish to that can possibly come when Afghans get together, view as their own particular manner out.”
