The head of Afghanistan’s central bank has fled Kabul, raising doubts about Afghan security forces’ allegiance and blaming President Ashraf Ghani and his inexperienced advisers for the country’s hasty and chaotic collapse to the Taliban.
Acting Governor Ajmal Ahmady also stated that U.S. dollar supplies were decreasing and detailed fleeing the capital on a military jet in a Twitter thread on Monday explaining how he worked at the bank until militants were at the city’s gates.
‘On Sunday I began work. Reports throughout the morning were increasingly worrisome. I left the bank and left deputies in charge. Felt terrible about leaving staff. It did not have to end this way. I am disgusted by the lack of any planning by Afghan leadership. Saw them at the airport leave without informing others, he said.
Ghani left Afghanistan on Sunday, as Taliban fighters marched into Kabul almost uncontested. Their presence, less than a week after capturing the provincial capital of Zaranj, was unsettling, according to the 43-year-old Ahmady.
A brief biography provided on the government website stated that he was named acting governor of Afghanistan’s central bank a little over a year ago, after previously working at the US Treasury, the World Bank and in private equity.
‘Seems difficult to believe, but there remains a suspicion as to why (Afghan National Security Forces) left posts so quickly,’ Ahmady said, referring to claims by certain pro-government militia commanders of that the army’s capitulation in northern Afghanistan was the product of a plot. ‘There is something left unexplained.’
Ahmady did not reply to Reuter’s requests for comment by email or text. From his verified Twitter account, he made his comments. The account was real, according to a World Bank insider who has spoken with Ahmady.
As the Taliban approached, Ahmady said that Afghanistan’s financial markets were in a frenzy, especially when the central bank was notified on Friday that it would not be receiving any more dollars, causing the Afghani’s price to plummet.
‘I held meetings on Saturday to reassure banks and money exchangers to calm them down. I can’t believe that was one day before Kabul fell,’ Ahmady said. He added that the currency fell as low as 100 to the dollar, a 23 percent decline, before stabilising at 86.
After a commercial flight, he booked was swamped with passengers, Ahmady said he boarded a military plane amid pandemonium on the tarmac. He didn’t say whose military jet he boarded and didn’t reveal where he was going.
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‘There was a rush. Some shots were fired. Somehow, my close colleagues pushed me on board,’ he said. The government’s collapse, according to Ahmady, was due to Ghani’s lack of preparation and unwillingness to recognise the limitations of his advisers.
‘Once the president’s departure was announced, I knew within minutes chaos would follow. I cannot forgive him for creating that without a transition plan. He himself had great ideas but poor execution. If I contributed to that, I take my share of the blame,’ Ahmady stated.
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