Afghanistan: Former top leader Abdullah Abdullah leaves country to meet family

Former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) and a key leader before the Taliban takeover last year, Abdullah Abdullah left Afghanistan on Saturday evening to spend a few days with his family, media reports said.

"As I leave the country for a few days to be with family during Eid-ul Fitr, I want to offer prayers for the souls of all martyrs who fell victim to terror, while I wish my compatriots Eid Mubarak as we end this Holy season," Abdullah said in a tweet.

Apart from the chairmanship of HCNR, Abdullah had held other key portfolios in the Afghan government including being the Foreign Minister of the country, as well as the chief executive, under the presidency of Ashraf Ghani.

"Our country, men & women, need to come together to participate in national mechanisms to decide about the future based on fundamental rights & essential Islamic & national values we hold dear as our nation goes through challenging times. I look forward to a participatory process that will offer solutions soon," Abdullah further said in the tweet.

Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah are among Afghanistan's political figures who have remained in Afghanistan even after the fall of the previous government, although there have been reports in recent months of them being under house arrest and banned from travelling, Tolo News reported.

Most of the people, who were associated with the Afghan government left the country after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August last year fearing a crackdown by the new Taliban regime. The Taliban regime has sought the return of the former government officials and intellectuals, seeking their cooperation to 'rebuild the country'.

Recently, the Taliban cabinet set up a special commission called the "Return and Communication Commission" to address the return of politicians and figures from the previous government, the report said.

"The commission's task is to reach out to Afghan politicians living abroad and gain their trust so that they can return to Afghanistan and contribute to Afghanistan's political structure," Ahmad Munib Rasa, a political analyst was quoted as saying.

( With inputs from ANI )