Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday did not resign from his post but said in a recorded message that there was a huge threat and remobilising Afghan security and defence forces is our top priority, Tolo News reported.
He did not mention anything about his resignation and said “consultations” were taking place to try and end the war.
“As a historic mission, I will not let the imposed war on people cause more deaths,” he said.
“Therefore, I have started extensive consultations inside the government with the elders, political leaders, representatives of people, and international partners on achieving a reasonable and certain political solution in which the peace and stability of the people of Afghanistan are envisaged,” he said.
There have been reports on Ghani resigning as president as the Taliban has captured city after city over the last one week in Afghanistan and now are on the gates of Kabul. Ghani’s address comes at a time when Kandahar the country’s second-largest city and Herat, the third-largest city have already fallen.
While the government forces have not been able to stand against the Taliban forces, Ghani praised the forces “that have defended the nation courageously and showed strong determination”.
News18 has learned from sources that Ghani is likely to step down and leave with this family to another country as the Taliban threat looms closer.
Sources have also said that his speech is a clear indication that there will be no further war with the Taliban. As the situation worsens, it is most likely that Ghani will resign.
Earlier in the day sources had said that Ghani may announce his resignation when he addresses the nation on Saturday, however, that did not happen.
This comes a day after the Ghani government offered power-sharing to the Taliban that refused to accept it. The peace negotiations committee is said to be drawing up a new plan which will see the complete ouster of President Ashraf Ghani’s government.
Top sources told CNN-News18 that the new formula is being worked out for an immediate ceasefire in Afghanistan. In this peace formula, the Ghani administration will have to step down.
Insurgent fighters have set up camp just 50 kilometres (30 miles) away, forcing the US and other countries to scramble to evacuate their citizens out of Kabul in advance of a predicted all-out attack.
Heavy combat was also reported in the area of Mazar-i-Sharif, a remote outpost in the north where warlord and former vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum had collected his anti-Taliban force.
Jalalabad, Gardez, and Khost, which are Pashtun-dominated and unlikely to provide any opposition today, were the only three cities of any consequence that had not yet been seized.
As the first American forces from a planned 3,000-strong re-deployment arrived in Kabul to protect the airport and coordinate evacuations, embassy workers were ordered to begin shredding and burning sensitive material.
On Friday, a number of European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, and Spain, announced the departure of employees from their respective embassies.
The dominant attitude among Kabul residents and the tens of thousands who have sought safety there in recent weeks has been one of confusion and fear.
Muzhda, 35, a single lady who fled nearby Parwan with her two sisters and arrived in the capital with them, expressed her fear for the future. “I am crying day and night,” she told AFP.
“I have turned down marriage proposals in the past… If the Taliban come and force me to marry, I will commit suicide.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his “deep concern” about reports of women being mistreated in areas taken by the Taliban, who established an ultra-conservative form of Islam on Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
The Taliban’s extent and speed have astounded Afghans and the US-led alliance that invested billions into the nation after overthrowing the rebels nearly two decades ago in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
Individual Afghan soldiers, units, and even entire divisions have surrendered only days before President Joe Biden orders a full US pullout, handing the Taliban even more vehicles and military hardware to fuel their lightning assault.
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