Ashraf Ghani: leaving Afghanistan was 'hardest decision of my life '

Former Afghan president says he is sorry things 'didn't end differently'

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives to board an aircraft from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland for travel to Doha, Qatar and Ramstein, Germany. AP

A satellite image shows grounded aircraft at the Mazar-i-Sharif airport in northern Afghanistan. Maxar Technologies via AFP

The Mazar-i-Sharif airport in northern Afghanistan. Maxar Technologies via AFP

Schoolgirls on their way home in Kabul. EPA

People sell petrol on a roadside in Kabul. EPA

Members of Jiye Sindh Mahaz party protest against plans to accept Afghan refugees in Karachi, Pakistan. Pakistan has shut its doors to Afghan refugees following the Taliban's takeover of the country. About 1. 4 million Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan legally, while around another million are undocumented. EPA

Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat speaks in Paris, France, before attending a gathering held to show solidarity with the women of Afghanistan. AP

Protesters are reflected in the sunglasses worn by a demonstrator during a rally in support of Afghanistan's people, at the Place de la Republique, in Paris. AFP

A man holds the Afghan national flag as he takes part in a rally in support of Afghanistan's people, at the Place de la Republique, in Paris. AFP

An Afghan man rides a bicycle past a barrier wall in Kabul. AFP

A member of the Taliban forces stands guard at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters

Passengers disembark on arrival from Kandahar at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters

A general view of the city of Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters

A suspected ISIS member sits blindfolded in a Taliban Special Forces car in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters

An entrance of the Maintenance Group Command at the military airfield in Kabul. Reuters

Damaged Afghan military aircraft are parked in a hangar after the Taliban's takeover of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. AP

An Afghan military helicopter at the airport in Kabul. AP

A Taliban fighter rests while on duty at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. AP

A burqa-clad woman sells face masks to commuters at a traffic intersection in Kabul. AFP

Passengers board an Ariana Afghan Airlines aircraft for a domestic flight, at the airport in Kandahar. Afghanistan's major airports reopened for domestic flights on September 4. EPA

Foreign currency traders carry out their tasks after the money market and other financial services providers reopened for business in Kabul. AFP

Foreign currency dealers transact in Kabul. AFP

A Taliban fighter stands guard as people move past him at a market with shops dealing in foreign currency, in Kabul. AFP

Workers and volunteers load a shipment of humanitarian aid to be sent to Afghanistan at Bahrain International Airport on Muharraq Island, near the capital Manama. AFP

Official spokeswoman of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management in Qatar, Lolwah Al Khater, and UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths visit the Park View Villas, in Doha, which is now housing Afghan refugees. AFP

Fifa president Gianni Infantino, centre, plays football with people flown from Afghanistan at Park View Villas, Doha. Accommodation built in Qatar for the 2022 Fifa World Cup has now assumed a different role from that envisaged by the organising committee - housing Afghan refugees. AFP

Back row, from left, Matthijs Wouter Knol, Sahraa Karimi, Sarah Mani and Mike Downey, and front row, from left, Orwa Nyrabia and Vanja Kaludjercic during the International Panel on Afghanistan and the situation of Afghan filmmakers and artists at the 78th annual Venice International Film Festival, in Italy. EPA

US Air Force Brigadier General Gerald Donohue speaks during a media briefing at Al Udeid airbase in Doha, Qatar. Reuters

A vendor displays guns for sale at a market in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province. AFP

Customers wait outside a bank on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters

Vehicles loaded with shipping containers wait to cross into Afghanistan, at the Friendship Gate crossing point, in the border town of Chaman, Pakistan. Reuters

People queue outside a bank to withdraw money in the Shar-e-Naw district of Kabul. AFP

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Former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani apologised for failing to provide stability and prosperity to his people and justified his decision to leave the country to avoid a long and bloody civil war, a statement posted on his Twitter account on Wednesday said.

“Leaving Kabul was the most difficult decision of my life,” he said, just over three weeks after he abruptly resigned as the country’s leader and fled Afghanistan in the face of the Taliban’s lightning takeover of the country.

“I left at the urging of the palace security who advised me that to remain risked setting off the same horrific street-to-street fighting the city had suffered during the Civil War in the 1990s,” he said.

Leaving was the only way to “keep the guns silent and save Kabul and her six million citizens," he added.

He again denied reports that he fled the country with millions of dollars in public money, saying “the charges are completely and categorically false".

Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tajikistan alleged that Mr Ghani fled the country with $169 million in state funds.

In a recorded statement broadcast after his arrival in the UAE, he also said his security team had forced him to leave Kabul and that he took only one set of clothes with him, leaving all else behind.

On Wednesday, he said corruption was a plague crippling Afghanistan and one that he had focused on as president. He insisted that his personal and family finances were scrupulous and that he had previously declared all assets as he welcomed an audit to prove that he had not stolen money.

He thanked all Afghans for their sacrifices, especially soldiers and their families before saying sorry that “I could not make it end differently” and not averting the chaotic end to his rule as the Taliban took power.