Afghans on Wednesday welcomed a three-day ceasefire but demanded it be made permanent, after the government and the Taliban said they would observe a truce that could kickstart peace talks as soon as next week.
The foes on Tuesday announced a temporary stoppage in Afghanistan's war, marking only the third official pause in nearly 19 years. It is slated to start on Friday and run for the duration of the Eid Al Adha Muslim festival.
Ali, a shopkeeper in Kabul who only gave one name, said three days was not enough.
"We want peace forever," he said. "We have the right to live in peace like other countries, we want our country to develop. We are all – old and young – tired of this war."
The Taliban – who over the years have steadfastly dismissed government calls for ceasefires and upped violence even after signing a deal with the US – announced they would down weapons for Eid after President Ashraf Ghani signalled progress in a contentious prisoner exchange.
"To demonstrate the government's commitment to peace, the Islamic Republic will soon complete the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners," Mr Ghani said, referring to the number of insurgent inmates the government originally pledged to free under the auspices of a US-Taliban deal agreed in February.
The swap is a crucial step to talks starting. Mr Ghani said negotiations could begin next week once the exchange was finished.
His spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said that Kabul would observe the ceasefire, but cautioned it did not go far enough.
"The people of Afghanistan demand a lasting ceasefire and the start of direct talks between the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan," Mr Sediqqi said.
Fawzia Koofi, a prominent women's rights campaigner and member of the Afghan government's negotiating team, said on Twitter she was "hoping for a lasting and permanent ceasefire".
Ahmad Jawed Ahmady, a civil engineer, said he hoped for an enduring ceasefire and "peace forever".
Top US officials also hailed developments, including special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who was expected to meet government officials in Kabul on Wednesday.
The Taliban indicated last week they are also prepared to negotiate after Eid.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's spokesman for military operations, said insurgents must "refrain from carrying out any operation against the enemy during the three days and nights of Eid Al Adha so ... our countrymen would spend the Eid with confidence and joy."
The latest truce is only the third of its kind, with other ceasefires in June 2018 and May this year to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Those ceasefires prompted widespread relief across Afghanistan but were short-lived, with the insurgents returning to the fight straight afterwards to resume near-daily attacks.
The US-Taliban deal, signed in Doha on February 29, stated that the militants and Kabul should start direct peace talks on March 10, following the prisoner swap.
But that date passed amid political disarray in Kabul and disagreements over the exchange, with Afghan authorities saying some released Taliban inmates were returning to the battlefield.
Highlighting the toll on civilian and military forces in the months since the deal, Mr Ghani said more than 3,500 Afghan troops had been killed.
He said 775 civilians had also been killed and another 1,609 wounded since the deal.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has blamed the Taliban for the bulk of civilian casualties during the first half of 2020.
Observers say the recent bloodshed highlights the Taliban's determination to push for broad control in Afghanistan, and underscores how little the US can do to stop them.
The US-Taliban deal "was not designed to bring peace to Afghanistan, but to facilitate a face-saving exit of US forces and engagement from Afghanistan", said Nishank Motwani, deputy director at the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit.
"The Taliban fundamentally believe that victory is theirs."
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UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
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Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
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2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
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UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
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