NATO hails Afghan's ceasefire announcement with Taliban

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday said that the announcement of the ceasefire by the Afghan government with the Taliban is a positive step towards peace in Afghanistan.

"I welcome the announcement of a ceasefire made by President Ghani and the Government of National Unity. This is a positive step forward on the path to peace. NATO fully supports an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process," Tolo quoted Stoltenberg as saying. The NATO chief called on the Taliban to accept the proposal of ceasefire.

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani announced that the ceasefire will start from the 27th of Ramzan (June 12) to the fifth day of Eid-ul-Fitr (June 19).

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also welcomes the move.
For years, Taliban militants in Afghanistan often use suicide bombers to create unrest in the region, claiming that their struggle is a holy war to impose Islamic rule.

On June 4, over 2,000 Afghan religious scholars from around the country issued a fatwa, saying the ongoing war in Afghanistan is forbidden under Islamic law.

At the end of the gathering, fourteen people lost their lives and 17 others got injured in an explosion which took place near the Polytechnic University in Kabul. Kabul police confirmed that it was a suicide bombing. However, Taliban had denied any involvement in the attack.

(ANI)