KBUL – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday promised to speed up theprocess of releasing Taliban prisoners and said that he was willing to”immediately” hold peace talks with the insurgents after they made an offerfor a ceasefire.
The Taliban offered a three-day truce over the Eid al-Fitr holiday thatmarks the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan starting Sunday,which Ghani swiftly accepted.
“As a responsible government we take one more step forward — I announcethat I will expedite the Taliban prisoner releases,” Ghani said in anaddress to the nation marking the holiday.
A US-Taliban deal signed in February stipulated that the Afghan governmentwould release up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners while the insurgents would freeabout 1,000 Afghan security force personnel.
The prisoner swap is seen as a confidence-building move ahead oflong-awaited talks between the government and Taliban.
Kabul has so far released about 1,000 Taliban inmates while the insurgentshave freed about 300 Afghan security force personnel.
Ghani also said his government was ready to hold peace talks “immediately”with the insurgents, who had stepped up brutal attacks on Afghan forcessince signing the US deal.
Government negotiators would be headed by Ghani’s former bitter rivalAbdullah Abdullah after the two signed a power-sharing deal last week thatended a months-long political crisis.
The Taliban offer comes just days after their leader Haibatullah Akhundzadaurged Washington “not to waste” the opportunity offered by the deal withthe US that set the stage for the withdrawal of foreign troops from thecountry.
US Special Representative to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, who brokered thedeal, said on Twitter Saturday that the United States welcomed theceasefire.
He urged the Taliban to continue to abide by the agreement, calling thehalt in violence “a momentous opportunity that should not be missed” whilepledging that the United States would “do its part to help.”‘Want lasting peace’
US President Donald Trump’s administration has made it a priority to endAmerica’s longest war, and in a bid to pull out foreign forces US officialshave been pushing the Taliban and government leaders to hold peace talks.
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Analysts however say the Taliban have been emboldened by the deal with theUS, and Afghan government officials have reported more than 3,800 attackssince it was signed, killing 420 civilians and wounding 906.
But Khalilzad has maintained that the insurgents have kept up their end ofthe bargain by not attacking the coalition forces — even if recent violenceviolated the spirit of the accord.
The remarks come after a horrific attack against a maternity hospital inKabul that killed dozens — including mothers and infants — and a suicidebombing at a funeral.
The Taliban denied involvement in the attacks, but President Ghani blamedthem and the Islamic State group for the violence.
War-weary Kabul residents expressed relief after the truce was announced.
“I’m happy that we are witnessing a rare ceasefire in Afghanistan,” said18-year-old barber Abidullah Nasimi.
“But this is not enough, we want a permanent ceasefire and end of bloodshedso that we have lasting peace in the country.”
Since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 there has only been one otherpause in the fighting — a three-day ceasefire between the Taliban andKabul, also marking the end of Eid in 2018.
That ceasefire was initiated by Ghani. -APP/AFP
