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.
Shadows Over Kabul
Hamdullah Mohib and Tam Hussein
Hamdullah Mohib, the closest man to the Afghan President at the time of the Taliban offensive, explains how the West enabled the fall of Kabul.
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Book Details
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication Date: 17-09-2026
Format: Hardback | 216 x 138mm | 248 pagesAbout the Authors
Tam Hussein is an award-winning investigative journalist and author of several books. He has been recognized by the Royal Television Society Awards and been nominated for the Orwell prize twice. He is Associate Editor at New Lines magazine and a writer who has reported on jihadist networks, foreign fighters, trafficking and criminal networks.
Hamdullah Mohib is former Afghan National Security Advisor of Afghanistan and former Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States. He fled Afghanistan along with President Ashraf Ghani after the 2021 Taliban offensive, just before the fall of Kabul. He currently lives in exile in the UAE. He holds a PhD from Brunel University, UK.
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