KABUL – Afghanistan was waiting Monday for a Taliban response to PresidentAshraf Ghani’s suggestion of a three-month ceasefire, an offer welcomed bythe United States and NATO after 17 years of war.
Ghani unveiled the government’s latest gambit during an Independence Dayaddress late Sunday, saying security forces would observe the trucebeginning this week — but only if the Taliban reciprocated.
The move followed an extraordinarily violent week in Afghanistan that sawthat Taliban storm the provincial capital of Ghazni — just a two hourdrive from Kabul — and press the fight against security forces across thecountry, resulting in hundreds of deaths.
The president said his office had cleared “all obstacles” to peace with theannouncement following consultations with religious scholars, politicalparties and civil society groups.
The proposal was warmly greeted by both NATO and the US, with Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo calling on the Taliban to participate.
The Taliban did not immediately respond to Ghani’s proposal but vowed torelease hundreds of “enemy prisoners” to mark the Islamic Eid al-Adhaholiday that starts this week.
Analysts said the government’s move belied the desperation after recentheavy bloodshed.
“After Ghazni City and everything else, this looks really desperate,”tweeted Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense ofDemocracies.
If the militants accede to the ceasefire, it would be just the secondnation-wide truce since the US-led invasion in 2001 that toppled theTaliban regime.
The first, in June, saw thousands of insurgents pour into cities acrossAfghanistan, eating ice cream and posing for selfies with security forcesto celebrate.
The brief respite observed by both sides spurred hopes that a new path wasopening for possible peace talks in the country to the end the nearly17-year-old war. – APP/AFP