Former Afghan president's brother pledges allegiance to Taliban

Former Afghan president's brother pledges allegiance to Taliban
Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai was seen in a video pledging his allegiance to the Taliban, at a ceremony in Kabul.
2 min read
21 August, 2021
The Taliban captured Afghanistan in a matter of weeks [Getty]

The brother of former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzaihas pledged his loyalty to the Taliban, according to local reports.

Ahmadzai pledged his allegiance to the militant groupwith Taliban leader Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani and religious scholar Mufti Mahmood Zakir in attendance, atweet by Islamabad based journalist Tahir Khan said on Saturday.

The journalist also posted a videoshowing the men together, which he said was released by Zakir.

Ghani fled the country on Sunday, as the Taliban closed in on the capital city of Kabul.

After fleeing Afghanistanand arriving in the UAE, he released a video saying that he left the country to "avoid bloodshed", but routed claims that he left .

The former president'sbrother pledged allegiance to Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani, who is a wanted man by both the US and the UN, and one of the leaders of the hardline Haqqani network.

It was reported on Friday, that Haqqani was at the Kabul Pul-e-Kheshti Mosque, where hundreds pledged their support for the Taliban.

Who's Who in the Taliban
Who's Who in the Taliban

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US coalition forces from the country, sweeping across much of the territorywith little opposition.

In light of the Taliban'ssudden takeover, chaos has quickly spread, particularly in the capital Kabul, where thousands have descended upon the airport in the hopes of securing a space in a flight out of Afghanistan.