Afghan media outlets have reported that former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani has left the United Arab Emirates and traveled to Lebanon.
The reports emerged shortly after Ghani said in his recent Eid message that he had been unable to speak publicly or appear in the media for several months and that his voice had effectively been “silenced.”
Without directly naming the UAE, Ghani appeared to criticize political and media restrictions linked to his previous place of residence.
According to reports, Rula Ghani, the former first lady of Afghanistan, is a Lebanese citizen, and Ashraf Ghani himself previously studied in Lebanon for a period of time. The reports have strengthened speculation that he has now relocated to Beirut.
In his recent message, Ghani described Afghanistan’s condition after the Taliban’s return to power as a “crossroads between life and death” and warned that the country had reached the edge of collapse.
He also stressed the need for national dialogue, an end to political monopoly, and a reassessment of governance in Afghanistan.
However, it remains unclear what kind of political activities Ghani intends to pursue in Lebanon or whether he plans to return to Afghan politics in a more organized way.
Some analysts believe the relocation and his increasingly direct political statements may signal an attempt to redefine his role in Afghanistan’s future developments.
Others argue that any political comeback by Ghani would face serious domestic and international challenges, especially given that many Afghans continue to associate him with the collapse of the former republic and his departure from Kabul in 2021.
