On June 5, 2018, President Ashraf Ghani made an unconditional yet temporary ceasefire with the Afghan Taliban effective from June 12-19, 2018.[1] According to President Ghani, the proposed ceasefire was, “an opportunity for the Taliban to introspect that their violent campaign is not winning them hearts and minds, but further alienating.”[2]
In a further unexpected development on June 9, 2018, the Taliban reciprocated Kabul’s offer by announcing a three-day ceasefire. The Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid stated that the group’s three-day Eid ceasefire proved that the group is, “unified and trustworthy … the way our fighters were welcomed by the people proves that our demands and the nation’s are identical – all want the withdrawal of foreign invaders and establishment of an Islamic government.”[3]
