Afghanistan: Taliban dismisses 'bogus' Facebook post predicting Ashraf Ghani's return

A fake Facebook profile dubbed as Kabul News TV was widely circulated on social media claiming the return of former President Ashraf Ghani. According to the fact check conducted by news agency Pajhwok, it has been found that the Facebook page was created intentionally to spread fake news about the return of former President Ghani. When the news agency contacted Kabul News TV, it has also confirmed no such Facebook page had been associated with the news channel. "Zabihullah Mujahid talked with President Ashraf Ghani on the telephone and Ghani pledged to come back to Afghanistan this month. Mujahid said preparations for a special ceremony to welcome President Ghani will be made in the coming four days and Ghani would be offered an important ministry," read the Facebook post of bogus Kabul News TV. 

Have a look at the Facebook post:

The fact check conducted by news agency Pajhwok has learnt that the Facebook page has 48 followers and the post was shared 63 times. However, several Afghan citizens posted screenshots of the post on social media platforms. The post also claimed Ghani would be given an important ministry in the all-men government. Meanwhile, while reacting to the claims published by the bogus Facebook page, acting Government Deputy Spokesperson Ahmadullah Waseeq told Pajhwok Afghan News the comments were not correct.

Ghani had left the country as per planning, says Karzai

Recently, during an interview with AP, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai denied the media reports claiming Ghani had fled from Afghanistan at the last moment in August this year. He added, "it was planned theory". . Karzai revealed he and the government chief negotiator, Abdullah Abdullah, had been working with the Taliban leadership in Doha on a mediated accord to allow the militia to enter the national capital under controlled conditions. He told a day before the Taliban took over the country, he came to know about the intention of the "terror" outfit. Karzai claimed he had discussed the developments with Ghani and Abdullah on August 14. According to him, Ghani agreed that they would leave for Doha the next day with a list of 15 others to negotiate a power-sharing agreement. However, at 2:45 pm when he dialled the senior military officers to know the ground situation, Karzai was informed all the officials left the country, including Ghani.

Image: AP/Twitter