Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan Mohammad Zahir Aghbar told Asia-Plus today that according to some sources, ex-president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani flew from Kabul directly to the Sultanate of Oman.
He told Asia-Plus in a short conversation by phone today that Ashraf Ghani really did not fly to Tajikistan on Sunday.
According to Afghan diplomat, there were no negotiations and requests for Ashraf Ghani visiting Tajikistan in transit.
“There is no exact information about the whereabouts of the escaped president. According to some sources, he flew from Kabul directly to the Sultanate of Oman,” Afghan diplomat said.
Recall, Afghan media reported that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled the country by private plane after the Taliban entered the capital Kabul and took control of the Palace of Government, had left first to Tajikistan and then to Oman. .
Media reports said on Sunday that Afghan sources had spoken to several media outlets that Mr. Ashraf Ghani and his immediate team had left Afghanistan for Tajikistan.
Thus, an Afghan government official Sajad Nooristani told Asia-Plus yesterday afternoon that Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani flew from Kabul to Tajikistan.
According to him, Mr. Ghani was accompanied by his national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib and the head of the president’s administrative office Mahmoud Fazli.
Nooristani noted that after Tajikistan, Ghani would fly to an unidentified third country.
TOLO TV, an Afghan TV network, first reported that Mr. Ghani, 72, had gone into exile.
Reuters later confirmed that he had fled the country and that the Taliban was checking in on his whereabouts, citing a senior Afghan interior ministry official and a Taliban representative.
Asked for comment, the president's office said it "cannot say anything about Ashraf Ghani's movement for security reasons."
According to Radio Liberty, after short overstay in Dushanbe, Mr. Ghani flew to Oman.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan has denied report that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flew through Tajikistan to a third country as unfounded.
“The plane with Mr. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani onboard did not enter airspace of Tajikistan and did not land in the territory of the country,” says a statement released by the Tajik MFA today morning.
The statement further noted that the Tajik side had not received a corresponding request from the Afghan side.
There were also reports that Ashraf Ghani had fled to Tashkent.
