Kabul clerics demand ceasefire during Ramadan

KABUL.

Mohammad Ibrahim Barakzai, an influential Islamic scholar in the first district of Kabul, told a meeting on peace here that participants of the Consultative Loya Jirga should ask the warring sides to agree to a ceasefire.

He said the government’s spring offensive, codenamed Khalid, and the Taliban’s offensive, Al-Fath, were hurdles to the peace process.

“If the Taliban and the government want peace, then they should stop fighting each other first because ceasefire is the primary condition for peace”, he said.

Barakzai said some figures were creating problems in the way of peace in order to protect their personal interests and the government should identify and stop them.

Gul Ahmad Seddiqi, an Islamic scholar from the seventh district of Kabul city, said that people were thirsty for peace and only the Afghans were paying the price for war on both sides.

He stressed on finding a way for peace and said, “If the war had any benefit, we would have gained a lot during the last 17 years.”

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