Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Reveals Facebook Account Was Hacked When it Posted Support of Taliban Rule in Afghanistan

President Biden Meets With Afghan President Ghani In The Oval Office Of The White House

(Photo : Photo by Pete Marovich-Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 25: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani makes brief remarks during a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, in the Oval Office at the White House June 25, 2021 in Washington, DC. Biden announced in April that he was pulling all U.S. forces from Afghanistan and ending America’s longest war by September 11.

Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani revealed that his Facebook account was hacked after the social media account posted a message urging people of the world to accept the Taliban and "extend a hand of friendship" to Kabul's new rulers.

Ghani shared his message of truth on Monday from his verified Twitter account, saying, "The official Facebook page of Dr. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has been hacked." Officials said that until the former Afghan president's Facebook account is retrieved, content uploaded on the social media platform from the day of the support for Taliban rule and subsequent days will no longer be valid.

Ghani's Facebook Account Hacked

The original Facebook message that the former president's Twitter is referring to urged nations to "interact with the current government instead of alienating the Afghan people" and has since been removed. It said that if international leaders wanted a prosperous and secure Afghanistan, they would cooperate with the Taliban and not give out hostilities.

The incident comes as Ghani continues to receive criticism for his sudden disappearance from Afghanistan after fleeing the country during the Taliban takeover of Kabul. Days after Ghani and his family fled his country, the United Arab Emirates announced it had granted them permission to stay in the Gulf state on "humanitarian grounds," NPR reported.

Ghani defended his decision to flee Afghanistan with his family by saying that it was a decision to avoid further conflict in the war-torn nation as the Taliban approached the presidential palace. He said that leaving his country behind was the most difficult decision of his life but noted it was the only way to keep guns silent and protect the nation's nearly six million people.

The former president said palace security urged him to leave the country and protect himself and his family, which in turn would protect the Afghan people. Ghani said he did not want to stay in the country as the Taliban took over because it would risk setting off the same street-to-street fighting Kabul suffered through during the civil war in the 1990s.

Ghani was reportedly in a rush when he fled Afghanistan that he did not even notify some of his aides because he feared the militant group would behead him when they found him. Despite his words, many Afghans have died under Taliban rule after their takeover of Kabul, Business Insider reported.

Taliban Rule in Afghanistan

The situation also comes as the Taliban government requested on Sunday for international flights in the country to resume. The militant group has promised to provide full cooperation with airlines, saying that the issues at the Kabul airport have been addressed.

The request comes as the new Afghan administration tries to open up Afghanistan and urge international acceptance after taking over the country. While the airport was not allowed to conduct regular flights, a limited number of flights were allowed for aid and passenger evacuation purposes. The airport was closed after a series of devastating deaths of Afghan residents who were desperately trying to flee the country, clinging onto American planes and falling to their deaths, Reuters reported.