Diplomatic Cross

President Ashraf Ghani  Image: DOD/US Air Force Staff Sgt. Jette Carr Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani declared a provisional three-month ceasefire with the Taliban in a televised broadcast. Kabul-Anticipation had been mounting ahead of Ghani’s speech following mixed signals from the presidential palace over whether the government would offer a fresh truce – following a brief ceasefire in June. Pakistan Fully support, recent peace initiatives in Afghanistan “The conditional ceasefire will start tomorrow and it will continue as long as the Taliban preserves and respects it,” Ghani said on Sunday, August 19, Reuters reported. Ghani said the ceasefire, which begins on the Eid al-Adha holiday, would continue until the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday which Afghanistan celebrates on November 21, AFP reported. Ghani said his administration removed “all obstacles” to peace with the announcement following consultations with religious scholars, political parties and...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reiterates its support for recent peace initiatives in Afghanistan, its Foreign Office said Saturday, after the Afghan government and the Taliban agreed on a ceasefire during Eid-ul-Fitr. "Pakistan wishes to reiterate its support of recent peace initiatives in Afghanistan," a spokesman for the Pakistani Foreign Office said in a statement. "We particularly support all Afghan-owned and Afghan-led efforts aimed at bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan." The spokesman further said: "We also wish our Afghan brothers and sisters a peaceful and blessed month of Ramazan and a happy Eid." Also read ... At least 19 Afghan police officers were killed, Attack by the Taliban on a base-Kunduz Afghanistan announced Thursday a week-long ceasefire with the Taliban for Eid though operations against other groups including Daesh (Islamic State) would continue. The ceasefire will last "from the 27th of Ramaz...

Kabul-Afghanistan announced Thursday a week-long ceasefire with the Taliban for Eid though operations against other groups including Daesh will continue. The ceasefire will last "from the 27th of Ramazan until the fifth day of Eid-ul-Fitr," President Ashraf Ghani tweeted from an official account, indicating it could run from June 12-19. It was not immediately clear if the Taliban had agreed to the ceasefire, which would be the first for Eid since the US invasion in 2001. "We are checking with our officials regarding the ceasefire announcement," Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP. The surprise move comes days after a gathering of Afghanistan's top clerics in the capital Kabul called for a ceasefire and issued a fatwa against suicide bombings and attacks. An hour after the fatwa was issued, a suicide bomber detonated outside the gathering, killing seven people. Ghani said his government supported the clerics' call. "The ...