ISLAMABAD: American negotiators have urged the Taliban to agree to a 10-day cease-fire amid talks in Qatar, saying the peace process could be stopped again if the militant group does not comply.
Taliban sources, who have knowledge of the developments, told Arab News the US side gave the warning as the talks resumed last week, after a three-month suspension by President Donald Trump.
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted on Dec. 13 that he has taken a “brief pause” for the Taliban to consult their leadership about his demand for a reduction in violence.
He said he had expressed “outrage” over a Taliban attack on Bagram air base in Kabul on Dec. 11, which killed two and wounded dozens of civilians, asking the Taliban “to show they are willing and able to respond to Afghan desire for peace.”
According to Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen, the militant group had sought a few days’ break to hold consultations. He said Taliban negotiators had raised the issue of night raids, drone strikes and aerial bombings by the US-led foreign forces when the US bemoaned the Bagram attack.
A Taliban official said Americans have called for a 10-day cease-fire and “threatened to call off talks.”
“The US side has floated the idea to sign a peace agreement during the cease-fire,” the official said while requesting not to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media.
“They (Taliban negotiators in Qatar) have now prepared recommendations for the leadership, which will take a final decision. The leaders will decide whether or not to accept the cease-fire proposal,” he said, adding that “Americans want ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the proposal and they say there will be no talks unless the cease-fire is declared.”
Khalilzad returned to Qatar after his meetings with Pakistani officials last week weekend, but the peace talks have yet to resume.
“Status hasn’t changed,” an American source familiar with the US-Taliban talks in Doha told Arab News on Monday.
Shaheen in an earlier interview with Arab News said the Taliban would declare a cease-fire with the US and its NATO allies after the peace agreement is signed.
The Taliban and the US had finalized the peace agreement in August at the conclusion of the ninth round of talks, but the signing was blocked when Trump put a pause on the process, following an attack in Kabul which killed 12 people, including an American soldier.
As the US and Taliban are accusing each other of violence and halting the talks, senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham met Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Monday to discuss the Afghan conflict.
Graham chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and is a senior member of the Armed Services, Appropriations and Budget Committees of the US Senate.
Khan assured the US senator Pakistan would continue to play its facilitating role in the Afghan peace and reconciliation process, while emphasizing the value of peace and stability in Afghanistan for Pakistan’s development, a statement by the PM Office said.
This was Graham’s second visit to Pakistan in 2019.
US demands Taliban declare 10-day cease-fire to save peace talks
https://arab.news/zvcav
US demands Taliban declare 10-day cease-fire to save peace talks
- US warns talks could be called off if there is no cease-fire, Taliban sources say
- Taliban raise the issue of night raids, drone strikes and aerial bombings by US-led forces
Under floodlights after Tarawih prayers, late-night Ramadan volleyball lights up Islamabad
- Players and spectators gather after Tarawih prayers and matches run until 3am
- Teams travel from across Islamabad and nearby towns to take part in the tournament
ISLAMABAD: Soon after the Tarawih prayers end each night in Ramadan, a playground in Islamabad’s D-17 sector comes alive under bright floodlights.
The quiet residential corner fills with the thwack of volleyballs flying across the net as players leap for smashes and spectators line the edges of the ground, cheering and clapping late into the night. Matches often stretch until 3am, just hours before Sehri, the pre-dawn meal before the day’s fast begins.
Volleyball, one of the cheapest team sports, has long been popular in Pakistani towns and villages. Pakistan’s national team currently ranks 44th out of 101 teams in the FIVB Senior World Rankings and seventh in Asia.
During Ramadan, however, the game becomes more than just competition. With daily routines slowed by fasting, nighttime offers a rare window for activity, socializing and community gatherings.
“It has been four years since I started playing here,” said Ismail Khan, who hails from North Waziristan in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and has represented Pakistan at the Under-19 level.
“Late-night matches in Ramadan have become a tradition. We are busy during the day and fasting, so the night is when everyone is free. That’s when we come together.”
This year, the D-17 Volley Club has organized a Ramadan tournament that has drawn teams from across the capital as well as nearby towns and villages. For many participants, the games are about more than winning.
Khan says the atmosphere during Ramadan is unique.
“It feels different in Ramadan,” he told Arab News. “There is more energy.”
The appeal of the matches extends beyond local players. Whyn Whyn, a volleyball player from the Philippines visiting Pakistan for the second time, occasionally joins games at the D-17 ground.
“This is my exercise. And through sports, I meet many people,” she said, adding that she often spends evenings rotating between different grounds in Islamabad.
Around the court, spectators gather on motorbikes or stand shoulder-to-shoulder near the sidelines, watching each rally unfold. The crowd’s cheers rise with every powerful serve or well-timed block.
“In Ramadan, the atmosphere is different,” Naveed Mahmood, who regularly comes to watch the matches, told Arab News.
“There are more people compared to other months. We stay here until Sehri.”
Children are frequent visitors as well, weaving through the crowd or sitting beside their parents while watching the games.
“I come here two to three times a week to watch volleyball,” said Muhammad Haroon, 13. “My father also plays here and watching him has inspired me to play as well.”
For Munawar Khan, the tournament’s organizer and a doctor by profession, the idea began five years ago with a simple aim: to keep people active during a month when daily routines slow.
“In Ramadan, people don’t have much activity during the day,” he said. “They are fasting and working. At night, they feel free. So, we decided to install floodlights and organize games.”
Over time, the initiative has grown into something larger.
Now, as the night deepens and the crowd lingers by the court, the rhythm of rallies continues beneath the lights, a small Ramadan ritual where sport, community and late-night energy meet until the approach of dawn.
“People from all walks of life come here to play,” Munawar said. “It brings the community together.”
