Afghan President Ghani leaves the country

Afghanistan’s senior diplomat Abdullah Abdullah has informed that President Ashraf Ghani has left the country for Tajikstan as the Taliban closes in on Kabul. Abdullah is the Afghan Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation.

“The former Afghan president has left the nation,” Abdullah said in a video on his Facebook page, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Earlier, talks were ongoing between government officials and Taliban representatives at the presidential palace in Kabul. Taliban fighters have reportedly encircled Kabul after capturing 26 of the 34 provincial capitals in the country.