Ghani offers another Afghan cease-fire

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, defying expectations just days after a major Taliban attack on a large Afghan city, announced Sunday afternoon that his government would offer a two-month ceasefire to the insurgents on the condition that they respond positively.

In a live televised address marking Afghanistan’s independence from Britain, Ghani called on Taliban leaders to “welcome the wishes of Afghans for a long-lasting and real peace” and urged them to prepare for peace talks. He said the truce would go into effect Monday, the eve of a threeday Muslim festival, and last until October, “provided that the Taliban reciprocate.”

There was no immediate response from the Taliban regarding the ceasefire, but its committee on prisoners released a statement Sunday night saying the group would free hundreds of captives who are “fit to be released” during the upcoming Eid-al-Adha holiday.

The Taliban has staged numerous violent attacks across the country in the past two weeks.

Many Afghans had predicted that the spate of attacks would force Ghani to abort widely rumored plans to announce a new cease-fire during the Muslim festival of Eid-al-Adha, which begins Tuesday.

Some observers, though, said they thought the Ghazni attack — the most serious assault on an Afghan city since 2015 — was not intended to sabotage peace talks but to give the insurgents an advantage at the negotiating table. Ghani had proposed extending the June ceasefire but the Taliban did not respond. This time, he made his offer conditional on their acquiescence.

There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials, but they reportedly had urged Ghani to go ahead with his truce offer.

NOORULLAH SHIRZADA/GETTY Afghan President Ashraf Ghani declared a provisional three-month ceasefire with the Taliban on Sunday.