Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani pulled up with four vehicles full of cash to a waiting helicopter, but it wouldn’t all fit. He had to leave some behind as he fled to Dubai with $169 million. Trump previously called him “a crook.”
Afghanistan’s president flees to Dubai with $169 million in cash
According to a number of reports, Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani made a snap decision on Sunday to leave the country, “in minutes,” without US assistance. Fox reported the news, quoting a well-placed source who spoke to bodyguards at the presidential palace.
While fleeing the capital in Kabul, Ghani loaded up four vehicles with as much cash as they could hold, Unilad reported.
However, Ghani ran into a problem when he arrived at the waiting helicopter. The whirlybird couldn’t hold all the bags of cash the Afghan president was trying to load. He was forced to leave some of the money on the tarmac, the Daily Mail reported.
Nonetheless, Ghani managed to flee with $169 million in cash, according to the above sources and Metro UK.
According to several sources, Ghani reportedly flew to Tajikistan but was diverted to Oman after officials refused permission to land. He was granted asylum on humanitarian grounds in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates,
Afghan President’s departure prevented bloodshed, source claims
A source told Fox that the decision by President Ghani to flee likely averted “bloodbath” in the city of Kabul.
“Would have been fighting in the streets [had the president stayed],” the source said.
Trump previously called Afghani president “a crook”
Former President Donald Trump has previously called Afghanistan’s president Ashraf Ghani “a crook,” and he reiterated that belief in an interview on Sunday with Fox’s Sean Hannity, Newsmax reported.
“I never had a lot of confidence in Ghani,” Trump said. “I said that openly and plainly. I thought he was a crook and got away with murder. He spent all of this time wining and dining our senators. The senators were in his pocket.”
“He got away with murder in many different ways, but I had a very strong talk with the Taliban, which I consider to be much more important in a sense, because they were the problem,” Trump added. “And they had been there for a long time and are good fighters and they fight hard. And after I said that, we had a pretty good conversation.”
