New Delhi

Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has refuted the allegation levelled by the Russians that he took away loads of money and four cars from the country after abdicating his responsibilities and fleeing from the country hours before the Taliban entered his official residence in Kabul.

In a video message posted on Facebook, Ghani who has been given shelter by the UAE government in Dubai, said in Pashto, he was evicted from the Presidential Palace by his Security and he left in a huff.

He said he was rushed out of his residence in such a hurry that he didn’t have time to even pick his laptop and personal belonging and was wearing a pair of sandals.

He said,” They (reports) are a lie. You can verify this with the UAE Customs. I did not even have time to change my shoes. My security asked me to leave as there was an imminent threat to me as head of state.”

Speaking for the first time since he went missing from Kabul and his deputy Abdullah Abdullah announced he had left and resigned as President, Ghani claimed he was keen to transfer power to the Taliban when he was evicted from Afghanistan “against his will.”

“I didn’t want to hang as President of Afghanistan..I am in the UAE to avoid disasters in Afghanistan,” he said

He said he would have witnessed violence had he chosen to remain in Kabul. He also thanked Afghan defence forces for putting up a fight against the Taliban.

In what is seen as his response to the US President Joe Biden’s remarks that the collapse of the Ghani government was caused by the "failure" of Afghan political leaders to come together to negotiate the future of their country, Ghani said, "I should not be judged by those who do not know all of the details."

 He admitted that the Afghan government's negotiations with the Taliban did not reach any conclusion. "It is our failure," he said.

“I am currently in talks to return to Afghanistan,” he announced.