Ghone with the wind? Tajikistan, Kazakhstan deny Afghan Presidents arrival

Afghan President Ashraf
Ghani’s  whereabouts remain unknown after he fled the country on Sunday as the Taliban seemed set to regain
power after two decades with the takeover of capital city Kabul.  Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry denied media
reports that Ghani had flown to the country after footage showed him boarding a
plane reportedly with family members and close aides.

“Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry reports that Mr.
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani’s plane did not enter Tajik airspace nor did it land in
the country,” the ministry said in a statement on its website.

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Tajikistan said it had received no requests from Afghan
officials to provide shelter to Ghani.

Taliban claimed full control of Kabul with the capture of
the presidential palace after a week of routing Afghan forces in over two dozen
provinces.

The president’s office refused to reveal Ghani’s
destination due to security reasons.  Afghanistan’s
Minister of Defense castigated “Ghani and his gang” for “selling” the country.

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Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov also
rejected media reports about Ghani’s presence in the country.

The spokesman told Russia’s TASS news agency that there
were no Kazakh nationals in Afghanistan apart from the personnel of its embassy.

US troops Monday fired shots in the air as the Hamid
Karzai International Airport in Kabul witnessed chaotic scenes due to the heavy
rush of thousands of Afghans desperate to fly out of the country.

The US State Department and Department of Defense said an
additional 6,000 troops were being dispatched to Afghanistan to secure the
airport and ensure the safety of those leaving the country.