Afghanistan announces ceasefire with Taliban
KABUL: Afghanistan announced yesterday a week-long ceasefire with the Taliban for Eid, the holiday that caps off Ramadan, though operations against other groups including Islamic State will continue.
The ceasefire will last “from the 27th of Ramadan until the fifth day of Eid-al-Fitr”, President Ashraf Ghani tweeted, indicating it could run from June 12 to 19.
It was not clear if the Taliban had agreed to the ceasefire, which would be the first for Eid since the US invasion in 2001.
“We are checking with our officials regarding the ceasefire announcement,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
The surprise move comes days after a gathering of Afghanistan’s top clerics here called for a ceasefire and issued a fatwa against suicide bombings and attacks.
An hour after the fatwa was issued, a suicide bomber detonated outside the gathering, killing seven people.
Ghani said his government supported the clerics’ call.
“The government not only supports the unanimous fatwa announcement by the ulamas, but also backs the recommended ceasefire,” he said.
“(At) the same time, the Afghan government directs all the security and defence forces of the country... to stop all the attacks on the Taliban, but the operation will continue against Daesh (Islamic State), Al-Qaeda and other international terrorist networks.”
In February, Ghani unveiled a plan to open peace talks with the Taliban, including eventually recognising them as a political party.
At the time, he also called for a ceasefire.
The insurgents did not officially respond, but announced the launch of their annual spring offensive in an apparent rejection of the plan, one of the most comprehensive ever offered by the Afghan government.
Last month, the Pentagon said that senior Taliban officials had been secretly negotiating with Afghan officials on a possible ceasefire.
“A lot of the diplomatic activity and dialogue is occurring off the stage, and it’s occurring at multiple levels,” General John Nicholson said.