The seven-day reduction in violence negotiated between the United States and the Taliban will begin in next five days, Afghanistan’s acting interior minister said on Tuesday.
The Taliban have promised not to carry out bombings and rocket attacks during the violence reduction period, Massoud Andarabi said addressing a workshop for provincial police chiefs.
He said that Afghan forces are committed to violence reduction agreement, but will respond firmly if they are attacked.
Successful implementation of violence reduction agreement could pave the way for an agreement by the end of the month on a US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and intra-Afghan negotiations.
Sediq Sediqi, a spokesman for Afghan president, told a press conference on Tuesday that Afghan and US forces are working together to strengthen mechanism for monitoring violence reduction.
Earlier, Abdul Salam Hanafi, Taliban deputy chief of the Taliban’s Doha office, said that soon after signing the peace accord, the US would release 5,000 prisoners and Taliban would free 1,000 prisoners.
Sediqi did not confirm or deny the claim.
