Shadows Over Kabul: An Insider’s Account of the Fall of the Afghan Republic

At the time of the Taliban offensive, Hamdullah Mohib was the Afghan National Security Advisor, the closest man to the Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani. It was Mohib who took the decision to leave during the fall of the Afghan republic. Western journalists blamed the Afghan government for the events of 2021. But this personal eyewitness account tells a new story.

Written with award-winning journalist, Tam Hussein, the book is based on hours of interviews with Hamdullah Mohib between 2021 and 2024. Mohib shares his personal insights as somebody who was born under the shadow of the Soviet invasion, came to Britain as a child refugee, and scaled the echelons of power in Afghanistan to become Afghan ambassador to Washington and National Security Advisor. Covering Afghanistan’s history since 1980, and based on Mohib’s personal experiences, the book reveals why the downfall of the republic was the result of Western and Afghan leaders’ betrayal.