Ghani likely to offer new Eid ceasefire to Taleban

Kabul - The spokesman said further details would be announced later.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani may offer the Taleban a ceasefire during next month's Eid Al Adha after the truce in June which saw unprecedented scenes of unarmed fighters and soldiers mingling on the streets of Kabul, a spokesman said on Saturday.
The announcement came amid growing speculation about the possibility of peace talks with the Taleban, following Ghani's offer in January of talks without preconditions and the three-day truce during last month's Eid Al Fitr.
That ceasefire, which saw unarmed Taleban fighters on the streets of Kabul and other Afghan cities taking selfies with soldiers and police, raised visions of longer-lasting peace 17 years after the United Stats-led campaign that ousted the Taleban.
Ghani's main spokesman Haroon Chakansuri confirmed a report in the Wall Street Journal this week that the government was considering a repeat of the truce during Eid Al Adha which this year falls on August 22.
"There is the possibility that a ceasefire may be announced over Eid Al Adha," he told a news conference in Kabul.
The spokesman said further details would be announced later.
The last Eid ceasefire came amid an increased diplomatic push to end the conflict, with the United States announcing it was willing to participate in Afghan-led talks with the Taleban and discuss the future of international forces in Afghanistan.
The Taleban refused an extension of the ceasefire offered by Ghani, who ordered Afghan forces not to conduct offensive operations for another 10 days after the end of the Eid holiday as token of his willingness.
Since then, fighting has resumed in many areas across the country with dozens of soldiers and police killed and more civilian deaths including at least 14 people killed by an air strike in the northern province of Kunduz.