Taliban reject Afghan ceasefire offer during Ramadan

KABUL: Taliban insurgents have rejected the government’s offer for a ceasefire during Ramadan, citing delays in the implementation of a peace agreement.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani requested the militants to lay down their arms for the Islamic holy month, as the country battles the growing COVID-19 epidemic.

However, the Taliban’s spokesman Suhail Shaheen tweeted to lambaste the government’s offer, citing ongoing disagreements over a potential peace process and a delayed prisoner exchange as reasons to keep fighting.

“Asking for ceasefire is not rational and convincing,” wrote Shaheen as he accused the government of putting prisoners’ lives at risk during the outbreak.

(2/2)
In a time that the lives of thousands of prisoners are being put into danger due to the coronavirus and hurdle are created in the way of the peace process and complete implementation of the Agreement, despite that, asking for ceasefire is not rational and convincing.

— Suhail Shaheen. محمد سهیل شاهین (@suhailshaheen1) April 23, 2020

Under a landmark US-Taliban deal signed earlier on 29th February in Qatar, the Afghan government and the insurgents were by now supposed to have concluded a prisoner swap and started talks aimed at bringing about a comprehensive ceasefire.

Under the conditions of that peace deal, military troops of foreign will relinquish Afghanistan within 14 months, subject to Taliban security guarantees and a promise by the rebels to hold negations with Kabul.

American and other foreign forces have pledged to quit Afghanistan by July 2021 provided the Taliban stick to several security guarantees and hold talks with the government.

Ghani has been calling for a lasting ceasefire with the Taliban for years, only to be ignored by the increasingly emboldened insurgents.

The insurgents instead have mocked Afghan’s government, referring to them as puppets controlled by foreign powers, and have severely rejected to keep in peace talks as they intensify attacks on Afghan troops. Repudiate