Afghans enjoy peace as temporary ceasefire begins

KABUL (Tolo News): The people of Afghanistan have taken advantage of the 3-day ceasefire for the three days of Eid and are celebrating the festival by going to different parts of the country to sightsee and have fun with friends and families. The big cities of the country, especially Kabul, are celebrating the festival during the ceasefire.
“We want to have such a peace forever, like the three days of the ceasefire that we are having,” said Najiba Hussaini, a Kabul resident. Another resident of Kabul, Mohammad Raqib Fayez, said: “These people are tired! They no longer deserve violent behavior, neither from the government nor from the Taliban.”
“We welcome the 3-day ceasefire and hope that it continues for all time,” said Nazifullah, another resident of Kabul. Many residents in other parts of the country want to spend hours away from violence. Kunduz, which has witnessed wars for many years, is one of these cities. A group of Kunduz residents, who gathered in a part of the city to celebrate, called on the warring parties to agree to a permanent ceasefire in the country.
“We came here from Imam Sahib district, which witnessed a very fierce fight on the eve of Eid. We came here to enjoy the state of peace and brotherhood, we enjoy it a lot,” said Sayed Hakim, a resident of the Imam Sahib district in Kunduz. A media activist in Kunduz, Sayed Nesar Jalali, said: “These people have come here to welcome the 3-day ceasefire, we see they are playing music and performing with the rubab, and the kids have started playing together.” Ghulam Abbas Amiri, who plays the rubab (a musical instrument originating in Afghanistan) for more than 50 years, said: “No matter how many languages there are in Afghanistan, they are all brothers; Now we pray that God brings peace and stability in the country, and unity comes among the entire population of Afghanistan.” These citizens of the country call on the parties to the conflict to come to an agreement for a permanent ceasefire and an inclusive peace.
Meanwhile, officials reported ceasefire violations by the Taliban in at least two provinces in which as many as three soldiers were killed and a few more were wounded. Uruzgan governor Mohammad Omar Shirzad said that the Taliban “violated” ceasefire in two places in the province today in which some security force members have been killed and wounded.
“One of the incidents happened in Kandahar-Uruzgan highway in which Taliban opened fire on security forces convoy in which we some were wounded and one was martyred,” he said. “Another attack by Taliban happened on Shaheed Amrullah Base in Tarinkot city, the center of Uruzgan, in which one soldier was martyred and one was wounded.” Meanwhile, one army soldier was killed and three more were wounded in a roadside bomb blast in Tagab district, Kapisa province, at around 11:30 am, the provincial police spokesman Shayiq Shorish said.
He said the blast was followed by a gunfight between “army forces and Taliban.” “These violations have happened in several areas by groups that operate under Taliban command because they do not obey their leader in action and this indicates Taliban’s weakness,” Defense Ministry spokesman Rohullah Ahmadzai said. A Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that the allegations by the government were baseless.
The ceasefire was started and will end on Saturday. Calls have grown on Taliban by the international community, Afghan political leaders and the people to extend the ceasefire after Eid al-Fitr. But the first day of ceasefire witnessed two blasts in Kandahar and Kunduz in which nine people were killed. The second day of the ceasefire, at least 12 people were killed and 15 more were wounded in an explosion inside a mosque in Shakar Dara district north of Kabul, according to a statement by Kabul police.
The blast happened at Haji Bakhshi Mosque in Qala-e-Murad Bek area in Shakardara district of Kabul, police said. Police said that Mufti Numan, the imam of the mosque, was also killed in the explosion. No group so far has claimed responsibility for the explosion.
Taliban in a statement denied involvement in the attack. “We were busy in the prayers when the explosion happened,” a survivor Ashiqullah said. “The target was the imam himself.” “They are the enemies of religious scholars. These infidels do not bear mercy even on the people and the religious scholars,” said Mir Agha, an eyewitness.
“They can destroy Islam through committing such acts,” said Mawlana Abdul Saboor, a religious scholar. The incident happened few days after multiple blasts near a girls’ school in western Kabul that left over 80 people dead and 150 more wounded. Taliban denied involvement in both attacks. “There were large crowds of Muslims. I was also there in the row. A huge blast occurred and people dispersed around,” said a survivor of the mosque attack. “The misery of our nation is that we do not know our foe and friends,” said Farid, a Kabul resident.