Afghan President Reciprocates Taliban's Eid Truce, Calls For Permanent Ceasefire - Reports

Afghan President Reciprocates Taliban's Eid Truce, Calls for Permanent Ceasefire - Reports

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered the government forces on Monday to halt armed hostilities for the three days of Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, calling on the Taliban to commit to a permanent ceasefire, Afghanistan's Tolo News reported

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2021) Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered the government forces on Monday to halt armed hostilities for the three days of Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, calling on the Taliban to commit to a permanent ceasefire, Afghanistan's Tolo news reported.

The Taliban declared a three-day Eid ceasefire earlier in the day, but reserved the right to fire back for self-defense.

"Our message to the Taliban is that their latest attacks during Ramadan in Logar, Helmand, Ghazni, Herat, Baghlan, the Kabul school attack, and today's deadly incident in Zabul show that any attempt to impose violence and make efforts to create horror among the people to achieving political and intelligence goals only leads to more hatred among the people," Ghani was quoted as saying.

The Afghan president did not otherwise acknowledge or welcome the Taliban ceasefire declaration, according to the report.

Eid in islam marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which is scheduled to end on May 12 this year. A three-day mutual ceasefire by the Taliban and Kabul has been annual since 2018.

Despite the ongoing peace talks, the Afghan government and the Taliban continue fighting each other on the ground. The confrontation unfolds on the backdrop of the withdrawal of US-led foreign troops, which is expected to complete on September 11.