The former president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in August via Uzbekistan, using a presidential helicopter and subsequently a plane of Kazakhstan’s FlyJet air carrier, a source close the ex-leader was quoted as saying by Afghanistan’s Hashte Subh Daily, TASS reports.
According to the source, shortly before the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) entered Kabul on August 15, Ghani, along with his advisors and bodyguards left the capital in several helicopters, reserved for evacuating the president and his inner circle in case of emergency.
"Of the 54 people who landed in the four helicopters in the Termez, Uzbekistan, 22 were pilots, co-pilots, and Air Force technicians, and the other 22 were the president’s bodyguards, and none of them had passports," the source said.
When the aircraft landed in Termez, Ghani, along with his wife Rula Ghani, national security chief Hamdullah Muhib, presidential administration chief Fazl Mahmood Fazli and other companions, had to spend 31 hours in the airport, guarded by over 200 Uzbek servicemen.
"Around dinner on Monday [August 16], after 31 hours of uncertainty, a small white plane with no government or trademark landed at Termez Airport, <…> They [the president and his inner circle] first boarded this small plane, which had a total of 60 seats, and then we boarded one after the other with the same hungry stomachs, thirsty mouths, miserable conditions, and tangled hairs," the source said.
"The inside of the plane seemed normal and there were no special cabins for the president and other officials. They sat in the seats near the cockpit, making us move to the back seats. Nobody was talking and we didn’t know where we were heading. Minutes later, the plane took off and they announced that we were leaving for the United Arab Emirates. Inside the plane, for the first time in 28 hours, we got some water and food," he continued.
