Afghan Govt Reaches a Ceasefire with Taliban
With elections due in next month, the Afghan government has reached a peace deal with Taliban militants in the north west province of Badghis, said officials.
Officials said that the Taliban have vowed not to launch any assault on voting centres and to hand key areas to government forces. However, there is no word on the matter from the militants.
The government says that it hopes to replicate the deal in other provinces.
It should be noted that the development has taken place following a clear UK emphasis that more must be done to involve moderate members of the Taliban.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced the shift of emphasis in the UK’s Afghanistan strategy in a speech to Nato.
In the speech, he stressed that the Afghan government must do more to talk to moderate members of the Taliban as part of a broader political process.
Violence in Afghanistan has escalated in recent months as UK and US forces launched a full-scale offensive against Taliban militants in the south of the country.
