Afghan President Announces 3-Month Conditional Ceasefire With Taliban

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2018) Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced on Sunday a conditional three-month ceasefire with the Taliban movement.

"As we approach Eid-ul-Adha [an Islamic holiday, Festival of Sacrifice], and to respect the wishes of different segments of Afghan society � we announce a ceasefire that would take effect from tomorrow, Monday, the day of Arafa, till the day of the birth of the prophet i.e., Milad-un-Nabi, [November 19] provided that the Taliban reciprocate," Ghani said, as quoted by the TOLOnews channel.

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 Islamic State terrorist group (IS, outlawed in Russia), with the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces conducting joint counterterrorist operations across the country.