Taliban pour into cities as clock ticks

Kabul: Taliban militants headed into cities across Afghanistan on Sunday as they celebrated their Id ceasefire with feasts and selfies, raising questions about what happens when the ceasefire ends at midnight.

President Ashraf Ghani said he would extend a government ceasefire by 10 days and urged the Taliban to do the same, winning praise at home and international backing, but critics said his overtures had allowed the Taliban to pour into cities unchecked. The Taliban said there would be no extension.

Ghani had committed "a grave mistake" by allowing Taliban fighters to enter government-controlled areas, said Amarullah Saleh, a politician and former head of the National Directorate of Security.

"We don't have mechanisms in place to mitigate the breach of ceasefire by the Taliban," Saleh told Reuters.

Members of parliament opposing Ghani's move said he had not consulted politicians and would be left with no recourse if the Taliban rejected his impromptu request.

A senior western diplomat in Kabul said Ghani's decision was "a bold move" but questioned what happens if the Taliban do not extend their unprecedented halt in hostilities against government forces. "The consequences could be disastrous," he said.

The Taliban said their members were expected to leave government-controlled areas before sunset.

A suicide bombing in Jalalabad, close to the governor's office in Nangarhar province, killed at least 18 people on Sunday and wounded scores, an official and doctor said. No group immediately claimed responsibility.

A car bomb killed 36 people at a gathering of Taliban and Afghan armed forces in the same province on Saturday. The Islamic State, not covered by the government ceasefire, claimed responsibility for that attack.

Over the weekend, ecstatic men and children crowded around the soldiers and Taliban fighters, some of whom had checked in their weapons at the entrances to cities, and urged them to turn their ceasefire into a permanent peace. Governors and officials hosted small feasts, played music to welcome the militants.

"There is no intention to extend the ceasefire," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters. "...Our normal operations will start tomorrow (Monday)."

On Sunday, Ghani's office extended a unilateral ceasefire by 10 days. "Afghan security forces can defend themselves against any attack," Durani Waziri, spokesperson for the presidential palace, said.

Western diplomats based in Kabul said they were issuing fresh travel warnings for the whole country.

"The Taliban can always use a ceasefire as an opportunity to attack foreigners," one western diplomat said. "Nobody has any clue how many Taliban militants are now hiding in civilian areas."

The US wants Pakistan, which it accuses of harbouring Afghan Taliban commanders, to exert more influence on the group to bring it to the negotiating table.