To mark Eid festival peacefully, Afghan Prez Ashraf Ghani announces three-month ceasefire with Taliban

Kabul, August 20: To mark Eid al-Adha festival with peace and prosperity, Afghanistan on Sunday announced a provisional three-month ceasefire with the Taliban. The provisional ceasefire comes into effect from today onwards.

 

In a televised interview, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani declared has a provisional three-month ceasefire with the Taliban to mark the Eid al-Adha festival peacefully. He said that the truce will hold only if the insurgents reciprocate.

Referring to the Prophet Muhammad's birthday which is celebrated on November 21 in Afghanistan, President Ashraf Ghani said, “The truce would be until the prophet's birthday provided that the Taliban reciprocate."

Ghani, who was speaking during a ceremony to mark the 99th Independence Day of Afghanistan at the iconic Darul Aman palace in the capital city Kabul, said that his administration removed all obstacles to peace with the announcement following consultations with religious scholars, political parties and civil society groups.

The NATOs secretary general Jens Stoltenberg lauded the efforts of Afghanistan government to prevail peace. Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hailed the move of Afghan government saying it is time for peace in the country.

“The United States welcomes the announcement by the Afghan government of a cease-fire conditioned on Taliban participation,” Pompeo said in a statement adding that the US supports President Ghani’s offer for comprehensive negotiations on a mutually agreed agenda.”

On the other side, the decision of ceasefire with Taliban was immediately welcomed in neighbouring Pakistan. Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson in a statement said, "Pakistan fully supports all such efforts that contribute to achieving durable stability and lasting peace in Afghanistan.” "The people of Afghanistan deserve it. Coinciding with the Independence Day of Afghanistan, the announcement has an even greater significance," the statement added.

Importantly, Afghan president Ghani’s ceasefire announcement was limited to the Taliban and excluded other armed groups such as the ISIS. However, the Taliban did not respond to the decision of Ashraf Ghani.

On June 8 this year, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani announced a temporary ceasefire with the Taliban terror outfit till June 20 to celebrate Ramzan peacefully.

BACKGROUND:

Importantly, the ceasefire follows the Afghan Government's call for unconditional peace talks with the Taliban at the Kabul Process II conference in the Afghan capital in February this year. The move also comes on the back of calls by more than 2,000 religious scholars who had gathered this week in the capital, Kabul, to denounce the ongoing conflict and urge all warring sides to embrace peace added the UN mission.