Backing for Ceasefire in Afghanistan

Iran’s Embassy in Afghanistan expressed support for the interim ceasefire between the government of the country and Taliban.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran supports in principle the ceasefire announced by the Afghan president as a constructive measure and a step forward toward peace,” the embassy said in a statement on Friday. It also expressed hope that the initiative will be mutually accepted and serve as a launching pad for forging stability and reducing the suffering of the Afghan masses. President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday announced for the first time an unconditional ceasefire with the Taliban, coinciding with the end of the Muslim fasting month, but excluding other militant groups, such as the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group, Reuters reported. The decision came after a meeting of Islamic clerics this week declared a fatwa, or ruling, against suicide bombings, one of which, claimed by IS, killed 14 people at the entrance to the clerics’ peace tent in Kabul.

Ghani has urged ceasefires with the Taliban before, but this was the first unconditional offer since he was elected in 2014.