Taliban Says UAE Bans Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani From Conducting Political Activities In Exile

Mantan Presiden Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Secretary of Defense)

JAKARTA - Afghanistan's former President Ashraf Ghani has been barred from continuing political activity from exile, with the host nation the United Arab Emirates (UAE), also placing similar restrictions on officials fleeing Afghanistan during the US troop withdrawal and chaotic power shift.

Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy spokesman for the Taliban, said on Sunday the UAE imposed a ban on Ghani, who settled in Dubai after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, and other Afghan officials, who live in exile, preventing them from playing any role on the country's political scene.

In his Twitter post, Wasiq said former National Security Adviser Ghani Hamdullah Mohib and Balikh provincial governor Atta Muhammad Noor were also on the ban list.

"The UAE has banned all officials in Ashraf Ghani's government living in Dubai and other cities. These restrictions include Ashraf Ghani, Atta Noor and Mohib," he wrote, citing Daily Sabah November 30.

Abu Dhabi did not confirm the report or provide any comment on the issue of the ban.

The latest move to bar Ghani from involvement in Afghan politics comes after reports the Taliban and the UAE had held secret talks, during which Abu Dhabi reportedly also announced its desire to run Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport.

UAE officials have held a series of discussions with the Taliban in recent weeks to discuss operating the airport, which serves as landlocked Afghanistan's main air route to the world, foreign diplomats based in the Gulf region told Reuters.

Foreign diplomats say the Emiratis are seeking more influence in Afghanistan, dropping to second place Qatar and Turkey, which currently provide security at the airport and control it.

Meanwhile, Qatar, along with Turkey, helping manage Kabul's airport, played a key role in the evacuation process following the withdrawal of US troops, saying they were ready to take over the operation. However, according to four diplomats, the Taliban have yet to reach a formal agreement with Qatar.

To note, after the Taliban's seizure of Afghanistan, Ghani fled the country the same day the group entered Kabul and headed to the Presidential Palace to negotiate a transfer of power with the Western-backed government.

Later, Ghani apologized to all Afghans, lamenting, "I couldn't have ended it differently." In a statement on Twitter, Ghani insisted he left the country to "save Kabul and its 6 million citizens."

"I left at the urging of palace security who advised me to keep on risking triggering the same terrible street fighting the city experienced during the Civil War of the 1990s. I never intended to leave people behind," said Ghani, denying accusations he was leaving. country with around 169 million US dollars.