President Ghani Stresses on Continuation of Ceasefire With Taliban

President Ashraf Ghani insisted on continuation of ceasefire with the Taliban group in an address to the nation after the Eid-al-Fitr prayers at the Presidential Palace on Friday.

The Taliban is holding an unprecedented ceasefire in Afghanistan for Eid al-Fitr, but sent a stark warning to “foreign occupiers” in the region.

The decision marks the terror group’s first ceasefire in the nation since the US invasion in 2001.

In a message, the Taliban said: “All the Mujahideen are directed to stop offensive operations against Afghan forces for the first three days of Eid-al-Fitr.”

President Ghani has praised the Taliban ceasefire that started at midnight on Thursday, saying the Afghan government is ready to take any step regarding the peace in the country.

He also called on Taliban to announce readiness for joining the peace process.

However, The Taliban agreed to the cease-fire but leader Haibaitullah Akhunzada reiterated his demand for talks with the U.S.

This comes as the Taliban group sent a warning to other nations in the area by insisting “foreign occupiers are the exception” in the ceasefire, meaning the Taliban would still carry out attacks.

It stated: “Our operations will continue against them, we will attack them wherever we see them.”