The Taliban has said that Ashraf Ghani made a mistake by abandoning the government all of a sudden.

Saying that his sudden escape “created a vacuum of insecurity, laundering and shooting in the city”, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said that he must return the money he took with himself while fleeing the country.

In an interview with Doha News, Shaheen said, “he made a mistake by abandoning the government all of a sudden while we were waiting for a peaceful transfer of power and our fighters were waiting at the gates of Kabul city.”

He took money which was the property and the assets of the people of Afghanistan with him, so I think he should return it, he added.

When asked whether the Taliban was in talks to get the money back, Shaheen said their current focus right now is to maintain security and stabilising the country and form a new Afghan-inclusive Islamic government

Calling the Taliban government “the government of the people of Afghanistan”, the spokesperson said that “it is not a government imposed on our people as a result of occupation or an invasion.”

On bilateral relations with other nations, he said that the Taliban wants good relations, cooperation with its neighbours, regional countries, and other world countries on the basis of mutual respect and mutual interest.

Ghani has fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with his family members. In a video message to his people on August 18, he defended his decision to leave Kabul saying it was the only way to prevent bloodshed.

He also categorically rejected the allegations that he fled with suitcases full of cash.

Meanwhile, the Taliban has announced a ban on coeducation.

This comes a day after Shaikh Abdulbaqi Haqqani was appointed as the acting minister of higher education in Afghanistan.

Haqqani has said that education activities will take place as per the Sharia Law.