TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani and the group fled Afghanistan in a hurry in the chaos when the Taliban began capturing the city of Kabul on August 15, according to former pilots and officials familiar with the incident.
Airfield security forces stop another Afghan Air Force helicopter from taking off. The helicopter was assigned to Ghani’s presidential fleet, which was eventually allowed to fly, but only after one of the pilots on the helicopter argued with Ghani’s troops and security was involved, according to several Afghans familiar with the incident. Reuters, December 30, 2021.
The impasse worries the president’s inner circle. Concerns are growing about the ability of Ghani’s own forces to protect him, said Mohib, the national security adviser. While not the only factor, the incident contributed to the decision that it was time to get Ghani out of Afghanistan, Mohib said.
“One of the reasons for the decision that it was time to evacuate was because the helicopter was actually being held hostage,” Mohib said. “The fear is that some (Afghan soldiers) are defecting.”
The riots continued as Ashraf Ghani and his entourage began boarding three helicopters in the palace courtyard to flee to Uzbekistan, one of the pilots told Reuters. After the president, his wife, and several high-ranking officials, including Mohib, boarded, some of Ghani’s bodyguards fought each other for the remaining seats, in a fistfight, a pilot told Reuters.
The three helicopters left the palace together before 3 p.m., flying low to avoid radar as they headed north to keep the mission secret, the pilots said. The fourth helicopter followed in no time. One of the helicopters was so overcrowded that the crew ordered body armor to be thrown overboard to lighten the load. The four planes were carrying a total of 54 people, half of which were presidential guards.
The pilots were told their destination just minutes before takeoff. They couldn’t tell their families and left with nothing but their flight suits, two pilots told Reuters. Uzbekistan officials were also surprised by the sudden landing of Afghans at Termez airport, which triggered confusion in Uzbekistan airport security, two pilots Afghanistan told to Reuters.
Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry declined to comment.
Screenshot of a video on Youtube of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani giving a speech in Uzbekistan.[YouTube]
Arriving on the soil of Uzbekistan, Ashraf Ghani offered his final thanks to the crew.
“You saved our whole lives,” the president told them with a grim face, one of the pilots told Reuters.
Ashraf Ghani immediately flew to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announcing that he and his family had been received on “humanitarian grounds”.
Reuters could not contact Ashraf Ghani through the UAE foreign ministry or through former members of his government.
Around 17 air crew: pilots, flight technicians and maintenance crews, have led Ghani’s frenzy to Uzbekistan. They boarded a charter flight to Abu Dhabi on August 16 and were eventually transferred to a humanitarian camp there. All of them are still waiting for US resettlement.
Saying they feel forgotten by the US government, and worried about their families in Afghanistan, two pilots asked America for help during an interview with Reuters.
“We did our job,” said one of them.
A spokesman for the US embassy in Abu Dhabi declined to comment on the individual case of the Afghan pilot, but said the processing, screening and screening of citizens Afghanistan for relocation to the United States is a top priority.
Also read: Taliban Ask Government Officials Fugitive from Afghanistan to Return
REUTERS
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