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KABUL: An audio clips on Friday have circulated on social media where the Taliban has declared ceasefire during three days of Eid-ul-Fitar.
Soon after the report, former President Hamid Karzai, who is making unrelenting efforts in bringing peace, in a statement welcomed truce decision by the Taliban to be applied during three days of Eid-ul-Fitr.
He also called on the government to come up with a similar act. Former President hailed the declaration of a three-day ceasefire as a good start for bringing peace in the country.
However, the Taliban group rejected rumors regarding a ceasefire declaration during Eid days.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman of the group, said in a tweet that an audio message on social media about ceasefire is from the last year.
Last year, both the government and Taliban group announced ceasefire during Eid days last year. The Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire with Afghan government forces coinciding with Eid last year.
In that time the Taliban said it would stop all offensive operations during the holiday, except against foreign forces.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in that time that the Taliban move was an opportunity for the militants to realize “their violent campaign” was “not winning them hearts and minds but further alienating the Afghan people from their cause”.
For the first time in years, Taliban fighters – known for their brutality on the frontline of the spiraling conflict – entered the capital, Kabul, and other urban centers in Afghanistan and socialised with the locals. Both Afghan forces and Taliban members plus civilians embraced each other, click photos and celebrated three days of Eid in a peacefully atmosphere.
The Taliban were hugging civilians, offering Eid prayers alongside the security forces, and even enjoying a scoop of the city’s best ice creams. Many civilians went up to the fighters, welcoming them, engaging in conversation about peace and taking selfies.
However, so far the Taliban group did not announce ceasefire officially, but the Afghan masses are looking desperately for it. In the wake of ongoing peace talks, ceasefire between Afghan forces and Taliban during Eid days could be taken as of utmost importance to fined political settlement to the Afghan conflict.
