On August 16, 2021, thousands of Afghans rushed to Hamid Karzai International Airport as they tried to flee the Afghan capital Kabul.
Haroon Sabawoon / Anadolu Agency
With Taliban militants taking control of the capital and the acting governor of the Central Bank of Afghanistan left the country, political turmoil intensified and pushed the country’s currency to historical lows.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the Afghani exchange rate fell 1.7% on Tuesday to 83.5013 per dollar, a fourth consecutive day of decline. Acting Governor Ajmal Ahmady wrote in a Twitter post that the central bank was told that it would no longer export U.S. dollars on Friday, which weakened its money supply capacity and caused more panic.
Ahmadi boarded a military plane at the airport. Thousands of people tried to leave the airport due to the downfall of the Taliban’s rapid territorial expansion. Ahmadi wrote that there was no evacuation plan, and President Ashraf Ghani left without establishing a transitional government, causing chaos.
The central bank governor wrote: “The currency soared from a stable $81 to nearly $100, and then returned to $86.” “I held a meeting on Saturday to reassure banks and money changers and calm them down.”
On Sunday, the governor left the central bank and went to the airport, where he met other government leaders. He wrote that despite the lack of fuel or pilots, his flight was packed with more than 300 passengers.
13/ It does not have to end in this way. I am disgusted by the lack of any plans by the Afghan leaders. They were seen leaving at the airport without notifying others.
I asked the palace if there is an evacuation plan/charter.After 7 years of service, there was silence https://t.co/lBu3YksfWO
-Ajmal Ahmady (aahmady) August 16, 2021
“It doesn’t have to end this way. I am disgusted by the lack of any plans by the Afghan leadership,” he wrote.
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