Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled with only the clothes on his back, senior adviser says

Ghani was far from prepared for the Taliban’s arrival on the outskirts of Kabul last Saturday and fled Sunday with only the clothes he was wearing, the former senior official told CNN.In those final hours, the official said a senior member of the Ghani administration met in Kabul with a prominent member of a group allied to both the Taliban and al Qaeda, who told him bluntly that the government must surrender.”In the days leading up to the Taliban coming in Kabul, we had been working on a deal with the US to hand over peacefully to an inclusive government and for President Ghani to resign,” he said.”These talks were underway when the Taliban came into the city. The Taliban entering Kabul city from multiple points was interpreted by our intelligence as hostile advances,” the senior official said.”We had received intelligence for over a year that the President would be killed in the event of a takeover,” the official added.Talks with the Taliban and Ghani adviserHe also revealed there had been contacts between a senior adviser to Ghani and the Taliban.”President Ghani had no direct meetings with the Taliban, but the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, Khalil Haqqani, spoke to (Afghan national security adviser Hamdullah Mohib) Sunday afternoon, relaying that they wanted a peaceful transfer of power and that the government should issue a statement of surrender, following which they will negotiate with the team.”Khalil Haqqani is the uncle of deputy Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani and Anas Haqqani, who is involved in efforts to form a new government. Both Khalil Haqqani and Sirajuddin Haqqani are wanted by US authorities for their alleged terrorist activities as part of the Haqqani network. The former official also spoke about efforts underway in Kabul in the last few days to form a new government.”There are efforts in Kabul on the formation of an inclusive government, led now by Dr. Abdullah and former President Karzai. We started those efforts last week and we support those efforts and hope the Taliban will not try to create a monopoly government.” “If the Taliban want to see international legitimacy, they will have to accept to work with others and form an inclusive representative government,” the former official added. “There is still hope that the Taliban will act wisely. So far their actions have been calculated, which is a good sign. They appear to be working closely with political leaders.” “An inclusive and representative government will give Afghans a respite from further violence and create a country at peace with itself and its neighbors,” he said.