Ashraf Ghani is in UAE

The United Arab Emirates yesterday said that it is hosting former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani "on humanitarian grounds", after he fled his country amid a Taliban takeover. 

"The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds," it said in a brief statement.

Ghani fled Afghanistan on Sunday as the Taliban closed in on Kabul, before the insurgents walked into the Afghan capital unopposed.

In a Facebook post, Ghani said the "Taliban have won" and that he fled to avoid a "flood of bloodshed".

His whereabouts were unknown until yesterday, with speculation that he had fled to Tajiktan, Uzbejistan or Oman.

UAE has a history of accepting former leaders in trouble. In 2017, the emirate of Dubai hosted former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra, who was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison. Spain's king Juan Carlos went into self-exile in the UAE in August last year, and the UAE was Benazir Bhutto's home during her eight years in exile.

The UAE is one of three nations, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which recognised the previous Taliban regime.