New Delhi: Weeks before the fall of Kabul on August 15, US President Joe Biden and former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani spoke for the last time on July 23.
Ghani left the country leading to an irrevocable fall of his government after Taliban overtook charge of Afghanistan.
According to Reuters, the last call between the duo lasted for roughly 14 minutes and they discussed military aid, political strategy etc. But none of them spoke anything about the possibility of the entire country falling to the Taliban, the news agency, which went through the transcript of the conversation, said.
The last phone call between Ashraf Ghani and Joe Biden has been accessed by news agency Reuters and ‘Best military’: What Joe Biden told Ashraf Ghani in their last phone call on July 23. Going through the phone call, Reuters claimed that it is clear that neither Joe Biden nor Ashraf Ghani could anticipate the fall of Ghani’s government within a few weeks from then.
US President Joe Biden and former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani spoke for the last time on July 23, weeks before the fall of Kabul on August 15, which saw Ghani leaving the country leading to an irrevocable fall of his government. According to Reuters, the last call between the duo lasted for roughly 14 minutes and they discussed military aid, political strategy etc. But none of them spoke anything about the possibility of the entire country falling to the Taliban, the news agency, which went through the transcript of the conversation, said.
“Reuters reviewed a transcript of the presidential phone call and has listened to the audio to authenticate the conversation. The materials were provided on condition of anonymity by a source who was not authorized to distribute it,” the news agency said.
Biden told Ghani that the US will provide close-air support if Ghani spells out a plan against the Taliban offensive. Biden also advised Ghani to get buy-in from powerful Afghans for a military strategy going forward, and then to put a “warrior” in charge of the effort, a possible reference to defence minister General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi. Biden said he is not a “military guy” and hence can’t advise Ghani on military strategy, but he advised him to work on improving Afghanistan’s perception in front of the world.