Message on Ashraf Ghani’s verified Facebook page called on world to support, recognize Taliban government
ISLAMABAD (AA) – Afghanistan’s former president on Monday said his Facebook account has been hacked after a message in support of the Taliban was posted on the verified page.
“Urgent. The official Facebook page of Dr. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has been hacked. Until it is recovered, the content posted on the Facebook page since yesterday is no longer valid,” read a message on Ghani’s Twitter page.
It came after a brief statement on his Facebook page a day earlier that urged the international community to recognize and support the Taliban government in Afghanistan.
“This is a bitter fact that we and our former Cabinet do not have a percentage of control in Afghanistan, but still some countries are encouraging former ambassadors and representatives in the world to create a new crisis in the country,” read the post on Ghani’s Facebook page.
It accused Afghanistan’s UN envoy Ghulam Isaczai and other diplomats of choosing personal gains over national interests.
“The international community should understand that if Afghanistan is to have prosperity and peace, then (it must) extend towards it a hand of friendship,” it added.
The former president fled Kabul on Aug. 15 after the Taliban seized the capital and has since taken refuge in the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier this month, Ghani rejected claims that he escaped with millions of dollars and expressed regret for leaving “without ensuring stability and prosperity” in the country.
“I apologize to the Afghan people that I could not make it end differently,” he said, stressing that he was advised to leave Kabul as it was “never my intent to abandon the people.”