Former Afghan ambassador says Ashraf Ghani is responsible for Afghanistan’s “rapid collapse”

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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Photo: AFPA Afghan forces are unsure whether they are fighting to protect the state or to ensure Ghani stays in power for another term, he said. A peace settlement is not possible with Ghani as president, Zakhilwal said. the capture of Herat being described as a blow to the Afghan security forces.

Omar Zakhilwal, former Ambassador of Afghanistan to Pakistan, blamed Ashraf Ghani for the country’s “rapid collapse” as the Taliban continue to advance rapidly and conquer more territory.

In a series of tweets, Zakhilwal blamed Ashraf Ghani’s abuse of authority, endemic corruption, for reducing the Afghan state to a “personal fiefdom”.

The former ambassador blasted the Afghan president, saying he spent years promoting his image as “the greatest leader” Afghanistan has ever had and “the second most intellectual person in the world”.

He listed some of Ghani’s failed tactics during his rule, mainly the repeated excessive violation of the constitution, nepotism, instillation of political and national divisions, deliberate politicization and “demoralization of state institutions, conspiracies. policies, the sabotage of successive opportunities ”.

He said that due to Ghani’s self-promotion, Afghan security forces were unsure whether they were fighting to protect the state or to ensure Ghani remains in power for another term.

“The fall of dozens of districts and provincial capitals to Taliban hands across Afghanistan every week without much fighting lately is largely the result of this confusion.[sic],” He continued.

Zakhilwal stressed that a peace deal was not possible with Ghani as president, given that he was primarily responsible for Afghanistan ceding more territory to opposition forces.

Taliban capture Herat, Kandahar after fierce battle

His statement comes after the Taliban took control of more territory, with Herat’s capture being described as a blow to Afghan security forces.

Insurgents also arrested veteran commander Mohammad Ismail Khan after seizing Herat, a provincial official said on Friday, adding that they had promised not to harm him and other captured officials.

A Taliban spokesperson confirmed that Khan, who had led the fighters against the Taliban in recent weeks, was in their custody.

Khan is one of Afghanistan’s most important warlords. Known as the Lion of Herat, he fought the Soviet occupiers in the 1980s and was a key member of the Northern Alliance whose US-backed forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that Khan was arrested.

The capture of the second largest city of Kandahar in the south and Herat in the west after days of clashes is a devastating setback for the government as the deadly Taliban insurgency turns into a rout of security forces.

“The city looks like a front line, a ghost town,” Provincial Council member Ghulam Habib Hashimi said on the phone from Herat, a town of about 600,000 near the border with Iran.

“Families have left or are hiding in their homes. “

Referring to the southern economic center of Kandahar, a government official told Reuters: “Following heavy clashes late last night, the Taliban have taken control.”

The defeats have fueled fears that the US-backed government could fall into insurgent hands as international forces complete their withdrawal after 20 years of war.

A US defense official quoted US intelligence as saying this week the Taliban could take Kabul within 90 days.

The United Nations World Food Program considers food shortages in Afghanistan “quite severe” and worsening, a spokesperson said, adding that the situation had all the characteristics of a humanitarian disaster.

Among major Afghan cities, the government still holds Mazar-i-Sharif to the north and Jalalabad, near the Pakistani border to the east, in addition to Kabul.

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