Xinhua: Pakistan welcomes Afghan government's ceasefire initiative with Taliban

In this file photo taken on August 1, 2018 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers search vehicles at a checkpoint in Jalalabad. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani declared a provisional three-month ceasefire with the Taliban in a televised broadcast on August 19, but said the truce would hold only if the insurgents reciprocated. (AFP)

August 20: Xinhua states that Pakistan on Sunday welcomed the Afghan government's declaration of a ceasefire during the upcoming Muslim festival of "Eid ul Azha." Pakistan made the response after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced a three-month conditional ceasefire with the Taliban that will start from Monday.