Kabul, July 27: Afghanistan has signed a cease-fire deal with Taliban militants in an Afghan province, as the country draws near elections amid growing violence.
A presidential spokesman, Seyamak Herawi, said on Monday that the truce was struck on Saturday in the remote north-western Badghis province near the border with Turkmenistan, after mediation between Taliban leaders, tribal elders and other influential figures.
He added that the government is planning to sign similar deals with the Taliban in other parts of the country.
“As long as the ceasefire holds, the government does not have the intention to attack the Taliban (in Badghis). And the Taliban can also take part in the elections,” Herawi told Reuters.
The deal is the first of its kind and according to government is struck in a bid to improve security for the August 20 presidential election in Afghanistan.
Violence has escalated across Afghanistan in the past months, since tens of thousands of US Marines and British troops began a major offensive in the southern province of Helmand, the heartland of the Taliban.
Civilians have been the main victims of violence in Afghanistan particularly in the troubled southern and eastern provinces where the main fighting is taking place.
The development comes about eight years after the US-led coalition invaded the country to allegedly destroy the militancy and arrest Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders including Osama Bin Laden who are still at large.
—-Agencies