Afghanistan is too big for Pakistan to swallow and too big for Talibs to govern: Amrullah Saleh, acting Afghan president

New Delhi: Amrullah Saleh, acting president of Afghanistan, on Thursday (August 19) said that Afghanistan is too big for Pakistan to swallow and too big for Taliban to govern. Earlier on Sunday, Saleh had said that never, ever and under no circumstances would be bow to the Taliban. 

In a social media post, Saleh tweeted, "Nations must respect the rule of law, not violence. Afghanistan is too big for Pakistan to swallow and too big for Talibs to govern. Don't let your histories have a chapter on humiliation and bowing to terror groups."

Nations must respect the rule of law, not violence. Afghanistan is too big for Pakistan to swallow and too big for Talibs to govern. Don't let your histories have a chapter on humiliation and bowing to terror groups: Amrullah Saleh, acting president of Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/WwK2qcGIsa — ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2021

After Ashraf Ghani fled the war-torn country, Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh on Tuesday declared himself as the "legitimate caretaker President" in accordance with the constitution that states that in the absence of the President, the First Vice President becomes the caretaker President.

Citing the Constitution of Afghanistan, Saleh reportedly said that "in absence, escape, resignation or death of the President, the First Vice President becomes the caretaker President. I am currently inside my country & am the legitimate caretaker President."

Saleh took to social media and tweeted, "Clarity: As per d constitution of Afg, in absence, escape, resignation or death of the President the FVP becomes the caretaker President. I am currently inside my country & am the legitimate care taker President. Am reaching out to all leaders to secure their support & consensus." 

Saleh called on Afghans to "join the resistance" after the Taliban took control of Kabul, adding "It is futile to argue with @POTUS on Afghanistan now. Let him digest it. We Afghans must prove that Afghan isn`t Vietnam and the Talibs aren`t even remotely like Vietcong. Unlike US/NATO we hvn`t lost spirit and see enormous oprtnities ahead. Useless caveats are finished. JOIN THE RESISTANCE." 

Meanwhile, former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has claimed that he "was forced to leave Kabul and decided to leave my country in order to prevent bloodshed".

On Wednesday night, during a live Facebook broadcast from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ashraf Ghani said, "If I had stayed, I would be witnessing bloodshed in Kabul," issuing a rebuttal against his critics who said he left Afghanistan hastily.

He further stated that "those who think that I fled should not judge if they don`t know all the details," adding "They were going room-to-room to find me." 

"Their decision was this: Whatever happened 25 years ago was going to be repeated. The President of Afghanistan once again was going to be hanged in front of the people`s eyes, and such a shameful history would have been once again been repeated," Ghanis said, referring to former President Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai, who was killed by the Taliban in 1996.

(With Agency Inputs)

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