Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani took millions of dollars in cash with him while fleeing from Kabul. After the Russian Embassy in Kabul, now Ghani's former security chief has also confirmed this allegation. However, Ghani denied the allegations earlier last month, saying he had only brought clothes with him while leaving Kabul.
The name of this former security chief of Ghani is Brigadier General Pirajata Sharifi. Sharifi was with Ghani when he fled from Kabul on August 15. Later, when the Taliban captured the whole country, including Kabul, Sharifi also went into hiding. Now he has given an interview to the British newspaper 'The Daily Mail' from an undisclosed location. In this, he has also commented on Ghani. Sharifi has said that Ghani cannot lie to the people of the country.
Sharifi said- Ashraf Ghani had run away with currency worth crores, not lakhs while running. Maybe they want to exchange it for dollars. He had many big and heavy bags. I have CCTV footage of this incident. Footage from the Presidential Palace also shows a man carrying a lot of cash from an Afghan bank. Ghani left Kabul shortly after this. Anyway, cash was brought to the palace every Thursday for currency exchange.
Sharifi said in response to a question – Ghani knew what would happen next. So he ran away with all the money. I have proof of this and I have kept them hidden in a safe place. According to Sharifi, on August 16, he also tried to escape from the country after reaching the airport, but he failed. Since then 14 members of his family have been on the run from the Taliban. Sharifi said- Ghani never told me that he was leaving the country. But, they ran away and I was left here alone.
Sharifi gave a detailed account of the August 15 incident. Said- I reached Rashtrapati Bhavan to handle my work as usual. There the President was to hold a meeting on the security of Kabul. So I went to the Defense Ministry's office. Whenever the President used to come there, the weapons of the soldiers present there were taken back. That's what I did. I was waiting for Ghani. During this time I got a call that the President had gone to the airport instead of coming to the meeting. The Defense Minister also fled.
This security chief of Ghani further said – At that time I had only one gun and one bullet. I had decided that if the Taliban caught me, they would kill me anyway. It is better that I kill myself by shooting myself. The Taliban have announced a reward for Sharifi's arrest. Its posters have been put up in many cities including Kabul. However, the Taliban have not been able to arrest him so far.
