Afghan president vows to prevent 'achievements' of last 20 years going to waste

Despite the fact that the Taliban are closing in Kabul, and continue to make gains across Afghanistan, President Ashraf Ghani did not resign in a key speech he made on Saturday (14 August) in spite of speculation that he might.

Instead, Ghani said he would be consulting Afghan and international leaders with a “focus is on preventing further instability, violence and displacement of my people”.

The president praised the sacrifices that have been made by the security forces, stressing that he “will not give up the achievements of the last 20 years”.