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AFGHAN President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire for Eid at the weekend.
The Taliban order, which was soon followed by an announcement via Twitter from Mr Ghani “extend[ing] the offer of peace,” comes just days after US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad visited Kabul and Doha.
The Taliban said it was committed to a peace deal and told its fighters not to engage the Afghan army, but also not to fraternise. At the last ceasefire in 2018, images of Taliban fighters sharing ice cream and laughing with soldiers circulated.
Eid, the Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan, is being celebrated at home around the world as Covid-19 prevents get-togethers. Turkey, Iraq and Jordan have imposed round-the-clock curfews. And Israeli police broke up what they called “an illegal demonstration” outside the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, where tens of thousands would normally worship during Eid.
Afghanistan has been at war since the US-led invasion of 2001.
