Islamabad (August 21, 2018): Pakistan on Tuesday condemned rocket attacks on Kabul close to the Afghan Presidential Palace during Eid prayers.
The Foreign Office spokesperson, in a tweet urged all parties to respond to the government’s ceasefire offer.
Pakistan condemns rocket attacks on Kabul close to the presidential palace during Eid prayers and urges all parties to respond to the Afghan Government’s ceasefire offer.
— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) August 21, 2018
According to foreign media, multiple rockets hit near the diplomatic area in Kabul early Tuesday, as officials said fighting had broken out between security forces and militants in the city’s old quarter.
Security forces have so far killed two insurgents after a group launched a massive rocket attack on the Presidential Palace and diplomatic zone early this morning.
The attack started at about 9am while President Ashraf Ghani was delivering his Eid speech at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace.
Officials report at least 12 rockets exploded in the area but residents in the area reported counting as many as 22.
However, additional explosions were heard at about 10am – which was believed to have been RPG’s fired by security forces. A military helicopter was also seen firing on the insurgent’s hideout in PD1 close to the Eidgah mosque.
A security source said earlier the group of insurgents launched the rocket attack from the back of a truck. Unconfirmed reports indicate at least two rockets landed close to the Presidential Palace.
However no details have as yet been released on whether there were any casualties in the attack.
Clashes with the insurgents were by 10.30 still ongoing.
Ghani unveiled the government’s latest ceasefire gambit during an Independence Day address late Sunday, saying security forces would observe the truce beginning this week — but only if the militants reciprocated.
The truce offer was welcomed by the United States and NATO after nearly 17 years of war, but the Taliban have yet to respond.
The move followed an extraordinarily violent week in Afghanistan that saw that Taliban storm the provincial capital of Ghazni — just a two-hour drive from Kabul — and press the fight against security forces across the country, with estimates suggesting hundreds of people may have been killed.
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