Taliban rejects Afghan govt’s proposal to extend ceasefire

TIL Desk/World/Kabul/ After the three days of respite from the never ending conflict, Taliban leaders on Sunday rejected the Afghanistan government’s proposal to extend the ceasefire. The Taliban said it was ordering all insurgent fighters to resume operations against “the foreign invaders and their internal supporters,”. Thousands of Taliban fighters continued entering into cities and towns to celebrate the three-day Eid holiday. They received warm welcome from the civilians.

Some residents of Kabul feared renewed violence between the two sides, once the ceasefire ends. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on June 16 announced an extension of the government’s week-long ceasefire with the Taliban which was otherwise due to end on June 19, urging the Taliban to extend their three-day ceasefire. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the US embassay in Kabul had also praised the Afghan government for extending its ceasefire.

This came in the backdrop of an initial truce which was observed by both sides over the Eid festival period. The Taliban on June 9 announced a three-day ceasefire over the Eid holiday, two days after Ghani announced the ceasefire from the 27th of Ramzan (June 12) to the fifth day of Eid-ul-Fitr (June 19). It is the first time the Taliban has agreed to a ceasefire for Eid since the US invasion in 2001.