US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed a Muslim Eid holiday ceasefire announcement by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, saying that Washington is ready to facilitate direct peace talks between the authorities and the Taliban.
Afghan President declared the latest ceasefire in a televised broadcast on Sunday on the condition that the Taliban reciprocated.
“I once again announce a ceasefire from tomorrow until the prophet’s birthday provided that the Taliban reciprocate,” Ashraf Ghani said in a statement quoted by AFP.
The announcement of the three-month ceasefire followed a week of a violent fighting across the country which saw the Taliban launch a massive assault against the provincial capital Ghazni.
Meanwhile, the Taliban reportedly promised to release hundreds of Afghan prisoners, but did not respond to Kabul’s unilateral declaration of ceasefire. Particularly, the Taliban militants said that they would release the prisoners so that “they can share the happiness of Eid [Eid-al-Adha, an Islamic holiday, Festival of Sacrifice], with their families and friends,” according to the TOLOnews broadcaster.
On June 7, Ghani declared a unilateral ceasefire with the Taliban from June 11 to June 19 to mark Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. On June 17, the Afghan president prolonged the ceasefire for another 10 days. The radical movement ceased hostilities for three days of the Eid truce but rejected the government’s request to prolong the ceasefire.
Afghanistan’s government forces have long been fighting Taliban insurgency, as well as the Daesh terrorist group, with the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces conducting joint counterterrorist operations across the country.
