Kabul : Taliban Did not take the capital of Afghanistan – he was invited, says the person who issued the invitation.
In an Associated Press interview, former Afghan President Hameed karzai offered some first insight into the mystery and sudden departure of Afghan President Ashrafi gunny – and how he came to invite the Taliban to the city “to protect the population so that the country, the city does not fall into anarchy and unwanted elements who will probably rob the country, plunder the shops.”
When Ghani left, his security officers also left. Defense Minister Bismillah Khan even asked Karzai if he wanted to leave Kabul, when Karzai contacted him about what remains of the government were still there.
It turned out that there were none. Even the police chief of Kabul was no more.
Karzai, who was the country’s president for 13 years after the Taliban was first ousted after the 9/11 attacks, refused to leave.
In a detailed interview at his compound surrounded by trees in the heart of the city where he lives with his wife and young children, Karzai was adamant that Ghani’s flight had left the government’s chief negotiator, Ghani, a last-minute flight. pushed in. abdullah abdullah and the Taliban leadership in Doha that would have seen the Taliban enter the capital as part of a negotiated settlement.
The countdown to a possible deal began on August 14, a day before the Taliban came to power.
Karzai and Abdullah met with Ghani, and they agreed that they would leave for Doha the next day and list 15 others to negotiate a power-sharing deal.
The Taliban were already on the outskirts of Kabul, but Karzai said the leadership in Qatar had promised the insurgent force would stay out of the city until an agreement was reached.
On the morning of August 15, Karzai said he was waiting for the list to be prepared. The capital was rough, on the edge.
Rumors of Taliban takeover were swirling. Karzai called to Doha. They were told that the Taliban would not enter the city.
Karzai said that in the afternoon the Taliban said that “the government should remain in its positions and not escalate that they have no intention of going into the city.”
“I and others spoke to various officials and we were assured that, yes, this was the case, that American and government forces were firmly in place[and]in places where Kabul would not fall.”
At around 2:45, however, it became clear that Ghani had fled the city. Karzai called the defense minister, called the interior minister, looked for the Kabul police chief.
Everyone had gone.
“There was no officer present in the capital, no police chief, no corps commander, no other unit. They were all gone.”
The deputy chief of Ghani’s own security unit called Karzai to come to the palace and take over the presidency.
He refused, saying that he had no legal right to a job. Instead the former president decided to create a public, televised message with his children, “so the Afghan people know we are all here.” Karzai was adamant that there would have been a settlement for a peaceful transition if Ghani remained in Kabul.
“Exactly. Exactly. That’s what we were preparing for, we were looking forward to going to Doha that evening or the next morning with the President of the Peace Council and finalizing the agreement. The leaders in Doha were waiting for us for the same purpose.” Were.
Today, Karzai meets regularly with the Taliban leadership and says the world should join them. Equally important, he said, is that the Afghans have to come together.
The war has dominated Afghanistan for more than 40 years, and over the past 20 years “the Afghans have suffered from all sides,” he said.
“The Afghans have lost their lives from all sides. , , , The Afghan army has suffered. Afghan police have suffered, Taliban soldiers have suffered.”
He added: “It can only end when Afghans come together, find their own way.”
The former president has a plan. In his talks with the Taliban, he is advocating for a temporary revival of the constitution that governed the time Afghanistan was a monarchy. This idea also came up during the first Doha talks.
At the same time, a traditional loya jirga – a grand council of all Afghans, including women – would be convened. It will decide the future of the country including a representative government, a constitution, a national flag.
There is no indication that the Taliban will accept his formula, although he says he has not rejected it in discussions.
Jirga is a centuries-old Afghan tradition for decision-making and is particularly popular among ethnic Pashtuns, who are the backbone of the Taliban.
Karzai said that boys and girls in the future Afghanistan should have universal education rights and that women “should find their place in political activity in all walks of life, in Afghan politics, in administration, in economic activities and social activities.” .. this is an issue on which there can be no compromise.”
But until that happens, Karzai says, the world will have to join forces with the Taliban. Afghanistan needs to act.
Government employees will have to pay. Health care facilities need to function.
“At the moment, they need to cooperate with the government in some form,” said Karzai, who lamented the challenging and sometimes misguided international perceptions of the Taliban.
He cited claims that women and girls are not allowed out of their homes or need a male partner.
“That’s not true. There are girls on the streets – women in their own right. Kabul’s ground situation testifies to this.
Asked to describe the Taliban, Karzai said: “I would describe them as Afghans, but Afghans who have gone through a very difficult phase in their lives, as have all other Afghans in the last 40 years. ”
“We have gone through a very difficult period in our history, in which we, the Afghans, have made mistakes on all sides, in which the international community and those who talk to us have made tremendous mistakes,” Karzai said.
“It is time for all of us to realize this, and to look at the mistakes we all have made and to make it better.”
In an Associated Press interview, former Afghan President Hameed karzai offered some first insight into the mystery and sudden departure of Afghan President Ashrafi gunny – and how he came to invite the Taliban to the city “to protect the population so that the country, the city does not fall into anarchy and unwanted elements who will probably rob the country, plunder the shops.”
When Ghani left, his security officers also left. Defense Minister Bismillah Khan even asked Karzai if he wanted to leave Kabul, when Karzai contacted him about what remains of the government were still there.
It turned out that there were none. Even the police chief of Kabul was no more.
Karzai, who was the country’s president for 13 years after the Taliban was first ousted after the 9/11 attacks, refused to leave.
In a detailed interview at his compound surrounded by trees in the heart of the city where he lives with his wife and young children, Karzai was adamant that Ghani’s flight had left the government’s chief negotiator, Ghani, a last-minute flight. pushed in. abdullah abdullah and the Taliban leadership in Doha that would have seen the Taliban enter the capital as part of a negotiated settlement.
The countdown to a possible deal began on August 14, a day before the Taliban came to power.
Karzai and Abdullah met with Ghani, and they agreed that they would leave for Doha the next day and list 15 others to negotiate a power-sharing deal.
The Taliban were already on the outskirts of Kabul, but Karzai said the leadership in Qatar had promised the insurgent force would stay out of the city until an agreement was reached.
On the morning of August 15, Karzai said he was waiting for the list to be prepared. The capital was rough, on the edge.
Rumors of Taliban takeover were swirling. Karzai called to Doha. They were told that the Taliban would not enter the city.
Karzai said that in the afternoon the Taliban said that “the government should remain in its positions and not escalate that they have no intention of going into the city.”
“I and others spoke to various officials and we were assured that, yes, this was the case, that American and government forces were firmly in place[and]in places where Kabul would not fall.”
At around 2:45, however, it became clear that Ghani had fled the city. Karzai called the defense minister, called the interior minister, looked for the Kabul police chief.
Everyone had gone.
“There was no officer present in the capital, no police chief, no corps commander, no other unit. They were all gone.”
The deputy chief of Ghani’s own security unit called Karzai to come to the palace and take over the presidency.
He refused, saying that he had no legal right to a job. Instead the former president decided to create a public, televised message with his children, “so the Afghan people know we are all here.” Karzai was adamant that there would have been a settlement for a peaceful transition if Ghani remained in Kabul.
“Exactly. Exactly. That’s what we were preparing for, we were looking forward to going to Doha that evening or the next morning with the President of the Peace Council and finalizing the agreement. The leaders in Doha were waiting for us for the same purpose.” Were.
Today, Karzai meets regularly with the Taliban leadership and says the world should join them. Equally important, he said, is that the Afghans have to come together.
The war has dominated Afghanistan for more than 40 years, and over the past 20 years “the Afghans have suffered from all sides,” he said.
“The Afghans have lost their lives from all sides. , , , The Afghan army has suffered. Afghan police have suffered, Taliban soldiers have suffered.”
He added: “It can only end when Afghans come together, find their own way.”
The former president has a plan. In his talks with the Taliban, he is advocating for a temporary revival of the constitution that governed the time Afghanistan was a monarchy. This idea also came up during the first Doha talks.
At the same time, a traditional loya jirga – a grand council of all Afghans, including women – would be convened. It will decide the future of the country including a representative government, a constitution, a national flag.
There is no indication that the Taliban will accept his formula, although he says he has not rejected it in discussions.
Jirga is a centuries-old Afghan tradition for decision-making and is particularly popular among ethnic Pashtuns, who are the backbone of the Taliban.
Karzai said that boys and girls in the future Afghanistan should have universal education rights and that women “should find their place in political activity in all walks of life, in Afghan politics, in administration, in economic activities and social activities.” .. this is an issue on which there can be no compromise.”
But until that happens, Karzai says, the world will have to join forces with the Taliban. Afghanistan needs to act.
Government employees will have to pay. Health care facilities need to function.
“At the moment, they need to cooperate with the government in some form,” said Karzai, who lamented the challenging and sometimes misguided international perceptions of the Taliban.
He cited claims that women and girls are not allowed out of their homes or need a male partner.
“That’s not true. There are girls on the streets – women in their own right. Kabul’s ground situation testifies to this.
Asked to describe the Taliban, Karzai said: “I would describe them as Afghans, but Afghans who have gone through a very difficult phase in their lives, as have all other Afghans in the last 40 years. ”
“We have gone through a very difficult period in our history, in which we, the Afghans, have made mistakes on all sides, in which the international community and those who talk to us have made tremendous mistakes,” Karzai said.
“It is time for all of us to realize this, and to look at the mistakes we all have made and to make it better.”
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