KABUL, May 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Afghanistan’s President, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, welcomed the three-day ceasefire announced by the Taliban outfit on Saturday, and vowed to set free 2,000 more Taliban detainees, to expedite the peace process.
The Taliban leadership on Saturday evening, the eve of Eid al-Fitr, declared a three-day ceasefire, ordering its fighters to stay inside their bases and refrain from fighting.
Afghanistan, like other Muslim countries, celebrated Eid al-Fitr on Sunday, to mark the end of the Muslims’ fasting month Ramadan.
In his short address, after offering Eid al-Fitr prayer on Sunday, President Ghani welcomed the Taliban announcement for a ceasefire as a goodwill gesture towards peace, and promised to set free 2,000 more prisoners.
Both the Taliban and Afghan government have exchanged more than 1,200 prisoners, including more than 1,000 Taliban and some 200 security personnel, since inking the U.S.-Taliban peace deal on Feb 29.
The Afghan president, who ordered his forces to resume offensives on the armed group, following deadly attacks on a maternity hospital in Kabul and funeral ceremony in Nangarhar two weeks ago, also instructed his forces to return to a defensive position, to support the ceasefire in the country, in his speech on Sunday.
Calling upon the Taliban to reciprocate the release of prisoners and observe permanent ceasefire in the country, Ghani said, his negotiating team “is ready to initiate dialogue” with the armed group.
Since the observance of the ceasefire in Afghanistan on Sunday, no security incident has been reported.
Zabihullah Mujahid, who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit, told media that the group’s fighters are in defensive posture, during the three-day Eid holidays.
Some countries, including the United States, Qatar, Pakistan and India, welcomed the three-day ceasefire.– NNN-AGENCIES
