Addressing the nation after the Eid-al-Fitr prayers at the Presidential Palace on Friday, President Ashraf Ghani said he hopes the ceasefire between the Afghan government and the Taliban will continue in order to end bloodshed in Afghanistan.

According to him, the ceasefire from the Taliban side was started at midnight on Thursday.

“We welcome any move which stops bloodshed… We hope that the ceasefire will continue, and we will witness no bloodshed anymore,” he said.

The president said he has talked with the Saudi Arabia’s king and that he has announced his support to the Afghan government’s ceasefire.

President Ghani assured that previous experiences will not be repeated in the upcoming elections. 

He said the parliamentary and district councils’ elections will be held on time.

This comes after the High Peace Council called on the Taliban to extend the ceasefire as government is ready to continue the truce.