Ex-Afghan president says had no choice but to flee Kabul

By KATHY GANNON
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghanistan’s former president says he had just minutes to decide to flee in the hours before the Taliban took control of the capital in August. Ashraf Ghani told Britain’s BBC in a rare interview aired on Thursday that he had “no inkling” he would be leaving by late afternoon as the Taliban moved in on Aug. 15. Ghani denied that there had been talks about a peaceful takeover, as well as allegations that he left with a cache of stolen money. Former President Hamid Karzai told The Associated Press in an interview earlier this month that Ghani’s departure scuttled any chance for negotiators to reach an agreement with the Taliban.