The EiD ceasefire offers President Ghani a chance to demonstrate his independent leadership.
 

There is a ceasefire of sorts between the Afghan Government and Afghan Taliban to mark the Eid.
The Taliban announced Saturday (June 8, 2018) a three-day ceasefire in response to President Ashraf Ghani’s offer on Thursday for a unilateral week-long cease-fire coinciding with the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
The Taliban statement did not acknowledge the government cease-fire but the moves by the two sides would overlap for three days.
The government has excluded militant groups like the Islamic State (IS). On their part the Afghan Taliban said that operations against foreign forces would continue. They also said they would defend themselves against any attack.
Ghani’s decision came after a meeting of Islamic clerics issued a fatwa against suicide bombings, one of which by the IS had killed 14 people at the entrance to the clerics’ peace tent in Kabul.
The clerics also recommended a ceasefire with the Taliban, who are seeking to re-impose strict Islamic law, Sharia, after their ouster in 2001, and Ghani endorsed their recommendation, saying it would last until June 20.
It was the first time an Afghan leader has declared an unconditional cease-fire with the Taliban since the war began in 2001.
“This cease-fire is an opportunity for Taliban to introspect that their violent campaign is not winning them hearts and minds but further alienating,” the Afghan President said, adding that “with the cease-fire announcement we epitomize the strength of the Afghan government and the will of the people for a peaceful resolution to the Afghan conflict”.
There is a view amongst a section of military and strategic community that the cease-fire would give the Taliban a chance to regroup.
“From a military prospect, it is not a good move,” former army general Atiqullah Amarkhel told Reuters news agency. “It will give the enemy the opportunity to prepare itself for more attacks.”  He also doubted whether the Taliban would lay down arms and deny themselves the opportunity of fighting during Ramadan
Some commentators hold the view that Ghani is seeking to “build momentum around a peace initiative” he had unveiled earlier this year. He apparently wants to open discussions with Taliban leaders, and show his government’s “flexibility” in accommodating some Taliban demands.
Andrew Wilder, an Afghanistan scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace, has termed the ceasefire as “a positive step” in what is bound to be a long peace process. In his assessment, a lack of trust between the government and the Taliban remains a significant obstacle.
“The ball is now firmly in the Taliban camp to demonstrate, even if just symbolically by agreeing to a one-week Eid cease-fire, that they are also serious about wanting to talk and not just fight,” Wilder  was quoted as saying.
In February, President Ghani officially recognized the Taliban as a political actor and proposed a constitutional review as part of a process that could also include cease-fires and other confidence-building measures, (CBMs). He had proposed release of prisoners, new elections involving the militants and a constitutional review.
But the Taliban have rejected talks with the Afghan government; instead they are ready for negotiations with the US. They conveyed this stand in an open letter to the American people in February.
In their announcement now, the Taliban   have for the first time promised Afghan civilians “a temporary reduction in violence”, which has only been spiralling in recent years.
For the Eid festival, Taliban fighters “are instructed to stop their offensive operations against domestic opposition,” the militant group’s statement said, referring to Afghan forces.
The Taliban statement said international forces in the United States-led NATO coalition would still be the target of attacks.
An Afghan official, according to the Washington Post, said the government would extend the period of the truce if the Taliban abides by its terms.
By all means the ceasefire offers President Ghani a chance to demonstrate his independent leadership.