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Anas Haqqani says Ghani’s exit forced rapid takeover of Kabul
As Afghanistan approaches the fourth anniversary of the Islamic Emirate’s return to power, senior member Anas Haqqani has said the movement initially intended to enter Kabul through a negotiated settlement aimed at maintaining normal diplomatic relations with the international community.
However, he claimed, the sudden departure of former President Ashraf Ghani upended that plan and triggered a swift military entry into the capital.
In a recent interview, Haqqani said the leadership had been pursuing “serious efforts” for a peaceful transfer of power, underpinned by “extensive diplomacy” to reassure foreign governments. But the announcement of Ghani’s escape on August 15, 2021, created an immediate security vacuum.
“His departure created a power vacuum, looters began raiding, and chaos unfolded. The situation demanded our entry into Kabul,” Haqqani said, adding that the decision was made to prevent instability from spiraling.
Haqqani also revisited the 2020 Doha Agreement signed between the Islamic Emirate and the United States, describing it as “a symbol of U.S. defeat.”
While the IEA’s leadership believed the U.S. would eventually withdraw, he said there were lingering fears of a last-minute reversal, particularly with the impending U.S. presidential transition from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.
We wanted to secure their signature in front of the world, Haqqani said adding that that signature represented the U.S and NATO’s defeat and exit, even though they labeled it a peace agreement.
According to Haqqani, the Kabul-appointed negotiating team at intra-Afghan talks appeared to deliberately stall in hopes that a change in U.S. leadership would lead to the agreement’s cancellation.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan regained control of Kabul on August 15, 2021, as IEA members reached the outskirts of Kabul. Ghani, who fled the country in a military helicopter, said later he left to avoid bloodshed.
Since then, the Islamic Emirate has faced sanctions, frozen assets, and a lack of formal recognition, with its policies—particularly restrictions on women’s rights—remaining a key sticking point in international engagement. The only country that has officially recognized the IEA government is Russia.
Russia’s Power Machines Company is interested in investing in the rehabilitation and modernization of Afghanistan’s power plants, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) said on Tuesday.
DABS Chief Executive Officer Abdul Haq Hamkar discussed the potential investment with technical officials from Power Machines, with talks focusing on rehabilitating existing power plants, modernizing equipment and expanding power-generation capacity.
According to DABS, Hamkar said the company would cooperate in facilitating preliminary technical assessments of Afghanistan’s power plants and in exploring investment opportunities in the sector.
Denis Rudakov, head of Power Machines’ commercial department, said the Russian company plans to conduct preliminary technical assessments of existing power plants in Afghanistan.
Based on the findings, Power Machines will prepare proposals for rehabilitating facilities, modernizing equipment and increasing electricity-generation capacity, DABS said.
Afghanistan currently has several operational power plants, while efforts are underway to increase their generation capacity and upgrade their equipment, according to DABS.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), on Tuesday denied that IEA authorities detained Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman the US claims disappeared in Kabul four years ago.
“We have no information about Mahmood Shah Habibi. He is not with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. If he were, this issue would have been resolved long ago,” Mujahid said.
His remarks came a day after the FBI marked the fourth anniversary of Habibi’s disappearance and renewed its appeal for information about his whereabouts.
According to the FBI, Habibi disappeared near his home in Kabul on August 10, 2022. At the time, he was working as a consultant for Asia Consultancy Group, a Kabul-based telecommunications company. He had previously served as Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation.
The FBI has alleged that Habibi was detained by the IEA’s General Directorate of Intelligence.
The FBI has continued its investigation and in 2025 released a missing-persons poster for Habibi. The U.S. State Department has also offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his location, recovery and return.
Afghanistan’s Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Sharei says the reclamation of state-owned land seized by land grabbers is a legal matter and should not be linked to ethnicity, religion or language.
Sharei, who also heads the Commission for the Prevention of Land Grabbing, made the remarks at a meeting with officials and representatives of charitable organizations in Kabul.
He said the commission is legally and religiously obligated to enforce rulings issued by the special court handling cases involving seized state land. Once the court determines that a disputed plot belongs to the state, the commission must enforce the decision, he said.
Sharei said the special court bases its rulings on documents, evidence and the law, adding that legal principles must be applied equally to all parties.
The justice minister also called on charitable organizations to work toward establishing a nationwide union and to expand their activities into fundamental and infrastructure projects.
He urged charities to avoid photographing or filming people while distributing aid, saying such practices could undermine the dignity of those receiving assistance.
Representatives of charitable organizations raised concerns over taxes, customs procedures and lengthy administrative processes. The Ministry of Justice said it would work to address the issues following the establishment of a nationwide union.
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