Afghan partial truce to continue with 'full ceasefire' goal: GhaniPresident Ashraf Ghani pushed back against a clause in the deal that calls for the Taliban to release up to 1,000 prisoners and for the Afghan government to release up to 5,000 prisonersKABUL - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Sunday that a seven-day partial truce would continue, but he rejected a key component of a new US-Taliban deal that calls for the release of thousands of insurgent prisoners. "The reduction in violence will continue with a goal to reach a full ceasefire," Ghani told a press conference. "General (Scott) Miller has told Taliban to do so. It is expected (to continue)," he added, referring to the US commander in charge of foreign forces in Afghanistan. Any prisoner release is "not in the authority of the US, it is in the authority of the Afghan government", Ghani said.

Source: Bangkok Post March 01, 2020 08:26 UTC