Former Afghan President Ghani has said he left the country to prevent possible violence

KATHMANDU: Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said he has left the country to avoid violence in Kabul, home to six million people.

Former President Ghani, who left the country two weeks ago after the Taliban fighters entered the capital Kabul, issued a statement saying he had no intention of fleeing the crisis in Afghanistan but to prevent violence from spreading. He said the situation in Kabul would worsen if the government wanted a war, adding that he felt it was appropriate to return to normalcy immediately.

Ghani, a two-time president, issued a statement apologizing to Afghans for leaving the country and denying allegations that he had taken millions of dollars from the Afghan treasury. His statement, issued after the Taliban announced a new government, made no mention of the new government.

Ghani, a prominent Afghan educationist, became president in 2014 and for the second time in 2019. Ghani, who has spent most of his time abroad, returned home after years of war in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban.