Afghan President Ghani Announces Rare Ceasefire With Taliban

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani announced a rare and temporary ceasefire with the Taliban after the country’s Islamic Council this week issued an edict that forbade suicide bombing and had urged the group to join peace efforts.

“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan announces ceasefire from the 27th of Ramadan until the fifth day of Eid-ul-Fitr,” Ghani said on Twitter on Thursday, referring to the end of the holy Islamic month. It’s Ghani’s first offer to halt hostilities since he came to power in 2014. He urged the Taliban to use this opportunity to realize “their violent campaign is not winning them hearts and minds but further alienating the Afghan people from their cause.”