Former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani reportedly fled the war-torn country aboard a helicopter full of money but had to leave some cash as it could not be squeezed into the chopper. This was reported by Russian news agency TASS. Ghani fled the country after Taliban insurgents swept Kabul after a sudden and unprecedented collapse of the US-backed Ghani government.

“As for the reasons for the collapse of the regime, they are characterised by how Ghani fled the country. Four cars were packed with money, and they tried to cram another bag of cash into the helicopter. Not all the cash managed to squeeze in, and some of the money was left lying on the airfield,” TASS reported, quoting the Russian embassy in Kabul.

Russian wire service Sputnik reported that Ghani was escorted with cars filled with cash as he was fleeing Kabul.

“They tried to put part of the money into a helicopter, but everything did not fit. And some of the money was left on the runway,” Russian diplomatic mission spokesperson Nikita Ishenko said.

Ghani, in his first comments after fleeing Afghanistan, said he was faced with a “hard choice” between the “armed Taliban” who wanted to enter the Presidential Palace or “leaving the dear country that I dedicated my life to protecting the past 20 years”.

“If there were still countless countrymen martyred and they would face the destruction and destruction of Kabul city, the result would have been a big human disaster in this six million city. The Taliban have made it to remove me, they are here to attack all Kabul and the people of Kabul. In order to avoid the bleeding flood, I thought it was best to get out,” he said.

Also Read | Chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as people fight to board planes

“Taliban have won the judgement of sword and guns and now they are responsible for protecting the countrymen’s honour, wealth and self-esteem. Didn’t they win the legitimacy of hearts? Never in history has dry power given legitimacy to anyone and won’t give it to them,” Ghani further said.

Ghani, an academic and economist, was the country’s 14th president. He was first elected on September 20, 2014. He, then, was re-elected on September 28, 2019, during a presidential election.