Jalalabad(June 17, 2018): An Afghan government ceasefire with the Taliban was extended Saturday despite a suicide bombing killing at least 25, which marred an otherwise remarkable Eid holiday.
President Ashraf Ghani made the announcement in a rare televised address to the nation, in which he also asked the Taliban to extend their three-day ceasefire, which is due to end Sunday night. So far the group has not responded.
If the ceasefire continues, this will allow everyone to share their resources in order to help the people who are affected, so our desire for peace and prosperity will be truly realized.
— Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) June 16, 2018
He further said that we would have to resolve our problems together and in this process the Afghan government, the Taliban and the Afghan people, must be included.
On the other hand, the United States has announced the agreement on expansion of the Afghan President’s ceasefire, showing the willingness to support, facilitate and participate in negotiations.
The statement issued by the US Department of State has said that have seen pictures of the soldier and Taliban in Eid prayers together, and if they can pray together, so why not talk.
On the other hand, in the bombing, 26 Afghan security personnel and Taliban fighters were killed while Eid greetings yesterday.
The Afghan government says that the explosion happened when Afghan security personnel and the Taliban were giving Eid greetings. According to officials, the explosion occurred accidentally when the rocket in a Taliban vehicle was blew out.
Taliban announced the fight for the sake of Ramadan, in response to which, the government also started fighting with the Taliban, whereas Taliban did not announce it for foreign security forces.
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