Former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani in UAE

Dubai, Aug 18 (EFE).- The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday confirmed it had provided shelter to the former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, who fled Kabul on Sunday as the country fell to the Taliban.

“The UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds,” the Emirati foreign ministry said in a brief statement.

The UAE government did not provide more details on how he left Afghanistan or his future in the Gulf state.

There had been speculation that the former president had fled to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan or Oman.

After secretly leaving the country without a public resignation, Ghani said in a statement he had fled to avoid bloodshed, adding that the Taliban were ready to attack Kabul to overthrow him.

The UAE is aiding in the evacuation of Western and Afghan citizens from Kabul.

The Emirati government is working “to facilitate safe evacuation” of diplomatic staff from France, the United Kingdom, the European Union, among others, and from Afghanistan through Emirati airports, UAE said in a statement.

The UAE was one of the few countries that had relations with the Taliban during their rule before they were ousted by the US invasion in 2001.

The Arab country later severed ties when the Taliban regime refused to hand over the then al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to the US following the September 11 attacks. EFE

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