The Taliban’s announced a three-day ceasefire with Afghan government troops for Eid.
What is the present condition of war?
The war has long entered a stalemate.
The Taliban has made enormous military gains in recent years. It now controls vast swathes of rural, mountainous Afghanistan, while the government retains its grip on the more populated urban centres.
The Taliban doesn’t seem to be in a position to capture power by overthrowing the government as long as they have U.S. and its allies’ support.
Equally, Afghan forces are unable to defeat or even check the Taliban’s momentum in rural areas.
What is the significance of the agreement?
It came in two days after President Ashraf Ghani declared an unconditional week-long ceasefire.
This is a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough in the long-struggling peace process.
This is the first time the Taliban has announced a ceasefire in the 17 years.
Though it has not acknowledged the government ceasefire, the timing and the public declaration point to the reciprocity of the decision.
The fact that the government and the Taliban finally accepted a limited ceasefire suggests that they are moving towards a political solution.
What are the shortfalls?
The Taliban has said that the truce is applicable only to the “domestic opposition”.
This means that it will continue to target foreign troops.
Also, the announcement came immediately after several attacks over 24 hours.
This shows how precarious the situation is.
Taliban insists that foreign troops be withdrawn, while the government demands that the group accept the Afghan constitution.
The U.S. could put pressure on the Taliban through Pakistan to bring them to the table.
