Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Abu Dhabi, says UAE

ABU DHABI: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled the war-torn country after it was overtaken by the Taliban, is now in the United Arab Emirates, the UAE government confirmed on Wednesday.

"The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds," the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement.

On Sunday, Ghani left Afghanistan after the Taliban entered the presidential palace. Ghani said he fled to prevent "bloodshed."
Soon after the terror group claimed control over the Afghan capital, several countries evacuated their diplomatic personnel from the country, and thousands of people flocked to the Kabul airport in a desperate attempt to leave Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the Taliban had ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 and in those five years, they imposed Sharia Islamic law in the country, introducing punishments in line with their strict interpretation of the law - publically executing convicted murderers and adulterers and carrying out amputations of those found guilty of theft. Men were required to grow beards and women had to wear the all-covering hijab.