KABUL • A surprise Taleban ceasefire appeared yesterday to be holding for a second day, as the authorities planned to release up to 2,000 insurgents held by security forces.
The Taleban made the three-day truce offer that started on Sunday to mark the Eid al-Fitr holiday - a move swiftly welcomed by the Afghan government, which reciprocated by announcing plans to free insurgent prisoners.
President Ashraf Ghani said the government was also ready to hold peace talks with the Taleban, seen as key to ending a nearly two-decade-long war in the impoverished country.
"The ceasefire is holding. There have been no reports of any violation so far," National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal said.
"We hope this will eventually lead to a lasting peace that the people of Afghanistan so much desire and deserve."
Mr Faisal said the authorities plan to release the insurgents in batches of 100 daily, with the first group of inmates set to be freed yesterday.
"The release process will continue with 100 prisoners each day until the 2,000 count is reached."
In the northern city of Kunduz, which the Taleban had attacked just days ago, calm prevailed as residents celebrated Eid.
"Just two days ago, panic had set in the city," said Mr Atiqullah, a shopkeeper in Kunduz.
"Today, you go out and feel as if there is no more fighting. People are actually celebrating Eid."
Violence has escalated since the Taleban signed a deal with Washington in February to withdraw all United States forces from the country by early next year.
The agreement also set the stage for intra-Afghan peace talks and stipulated that the government would first release up to 5,000 Taleban prisoners, while the militants would free about 1,000 national security personnel.
Before Sunday's announcement to free up to 2,000 Taleban prisoners as a "goodwill gesture", Kabul had already released about 1,000 Taleban inmates, while the insurgents had let go of roughly 300 Afghan security force members.
The Taleban insists that Kabul must release 5,000 of its members as agreed in the deal with the US.
"This process should be completed in order to remove hurdles in the way of commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations," Taleban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Twitter.
Since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, there has been only one other ceasefire - a three-day pause between the Taleban and Kabul, also marking Eid, in 2018. That ceasefire was initiated by Mr Ghani.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
