Afghan president offers Taliban new provisional ceasefire
7KH DQQRXQFHPHQW IROORZHG D EORRG\ ZHHN RI ILJKWLQJ DFURVV $IJKDQLVWDQ ZKLFK VDZ WKH 7DOLEDQ ODXQFK D PDVVLYH DVVDXOW DJDLQVW WKH SURYLQFLDO FDSLWDO *KD]QL
KABUL: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani declared a provisional threej month ceasefire with the Taliban in a televised broadcast on Sunday, but said the truce would hold only if the insurgents reciprocated.
The announcement followed a bloody week of fighting across Afghanistan which saw the Taliban launch a massive assault against the provincial capital Ghazni.
Anticipation had been mounting ahead of Ghani’s speech following mixed signals from the presidential palace over whether the government would offer a fresh truce, following a brief, unprecedented one earlier this year.
“I once again announce a ceasefire from tomorrow until the prophet’ s birthday provided that the Taliban reciprocate,” said Ghani, referring to the Prophet Mohammed’s (PHUH) birthday which Afghanistan celebrates on November 21.
Ghani said his administration rej moved “all obstacles” to peace with the announcement following consultations with religious scholars, political parties and civil society groups.
“We call on the leadership of the Taliban to welcome the wishes of Afghans for a long lasting and real peace, and we urge them to get ready for peace talks based on Islamic values and principles,” he said.
The president’s announcement was immediately welcomed in neighbouring Pakistan, which has long been accused of fostering links with the Taliban’s leadership and providing sanctuary to its fighters.
It was also welcomed by NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, who tweeted: “I encourage the Taliban to demonstrate their concern for Afghans by respecting it.”
An earlier, three-day ceasefire over the Eid holiday in June -- the first such truce in the country since the 2001 US invasion -- saw thousands of insurgents pour into cities across Afghanistan, eating ice cream and posing for selfies with security forces. It spurred hopes that a new path was opening for possible peace talks in the country to the end the nearly 17-year-old war, but violence has surged in the weeks since.
The days-long fight for Ghazni, which concluded on Wednesday killed hundreds and saw Taliban fighters ransack the provincial capital, torching buildings and destroying infrastructure.
That battle coincided with blistering attacks on government installations across the country. Analysts have suggested the Taliban were seeking to demonstrate strength ahead of any possible talks.