Ghani no longer a figure in Afghanistan: US

ABU DHABI: US reiterates Ghani ´no longer a figure in Afghanistan´, as the former president of Afghanistan in a live address on Facebook claimed he was part of negotiations for peaceful transfer of power.

The United States reiterated Wednesday that it did not see Ashraf Ghani as a player in Afghanistan, after the ousted president vowed to return.”He is no longer a figure in Afghanistan,” Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told reporters as she declined to comment on the United Arab Emirates´ decision to grant him asylum.

Earlier, Ashraf Ghani has denied fleeing the country just hours after it was confirmed that he has taken refuge in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In a live address on Facebook, Ghani reiterated that he had to leave Afghanistan in order to prevent bloodshed and to avoid what he called a “huge disaster”.

“My commitment to all my countrymen and women was to avoid bloodshed and to ensure peace, stability and development for Afghanistan, that was my overall objective,” Ghani said in a video message shared on his Facebook page. “I hope in these coming days and nights that we will get over this and Afghanistan will experience peace and stability,” he added.

“Before I left the country, I was working with the Taliban to ascertain a delegation to have negotiations to set the conditions for a peaceful transition of power, to keep Kabul safe,” Ghani claimed.

Ashraf Ghani says supports Taliban-Karzai talks and ‘in talks to return’ home after fleeing.

He said he was in contact with officials in order to “continue my efforts for justice for Afghans”. But he did not elaborate.

Earlier, the UAE said it had welcomed Ghani and his family on humanitarian grounds. In his address, Ghani said he was “forced” to leave Afghanistan by his security team because “there was a real chance that I would be captured and killed”. He said that when the Taliban later entered the presidential palace in Kabul, “they started looking for me from room to room”.The Afghan ambassador to Tajikistan had claimed he took around $169m (£123m) when he left.

Denying the claims that he had taken about $169m (£123m) with him when he left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he said he was “not even allowed to take my sandals off and put my shoes on”. He said this was because of the speed with which the Taliban was advancing and the situation in the country was “deteriorating”.