The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday said it has accepted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his family for humanitarian considerations. The statement carried by the UAE's state-run WAM news agency did not say where Ghani was in the country. It quoted the country's Foreign Ministry in a one-sentence statement.

Earlier, Ghani said he left Kabul to avoid bloodshed and a "big human disaster" in the city of six million people, urging the Taliban to reveal their intentions and reassure the people who are unsure about their future after the insurgents took over the war-torn country.

Ghani in his first comments after he left Afghanistan said on Sunday that 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".

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"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," Ghani said.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's ambassador to Tajikistan has accused Afghan President Ashraf Ghani of stealing USD 169 million from state funds and has called on international police to arrest him.

Ambassador Mohammad Zahir Aghbar did not elaborate or explain his claim further. Aghbar also promised to file a request to Interpol to arrest Ghani.

(With inputs from agencies)

(Edited by : Aditi Gautam)

First Published:Aug 18, 2021 9:20 PM IST