Ashraf Ghani's brother Hashmat Ghani announces support for Taliban: report

Former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani’s brother, Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai, has reportedly announced his support for the Taliban.

According to media reports, Hashmat pledged his support in the presence of Taliban leader Khalil-ur-Rehman and religious scholar Mufti Mahmood Zakir.

Earlier, Hashmat had made a statement in which he had said that his brother Ashraf Ghani was in a Middle Eastern country after fleeing Afghanistan.

He had said that there had been no casualties since the arrival of the Taliban and that corruption was common under Ashraf Ghani and Hamid Karzai.

Hashmat had said that he hoped that the Taliban would bring peace to the Afghan people.

Ashraf Ghani had said he hoped to return home, after fleeing to the United Arab Emirates in the face of the Taliban s rapid advance, and said he supported talks between the Taliban and top former officials.

"For now, I am in the Emirates so that bloodshed and chaos is stopped," he said in a video message -- his first appearance since leaving the capital on Sunday. He noted he had "no intention" to remain in exile.