Taliban should agree ceasefire to stop virus: Afghan minister

KABUL: The Taliban should commit to a ceasefire as a way of tackling the novel coronavirus, Afghanistan´s defence minister said Thursday, while also vowing that security forces would respond to continued insurgent attacks.

“Our proposal is that to prevent this plague, a ceasefire should come, so that we would be able to prevent it and treat people in every corner of the country,” Defence Minister Asadullah Khalid said in a televised statement.

Health officials have confirmed 22 cases of the novel coronavirus, but only about 300 people have been tested in the country of some 35 million people that neighbours Iran, where more than 1,000 people have died from the highly contagious virus.

Khalid said security forces should now assume a more aggressive “active defence” posture, meaning that “wherever the enemy is planning to target us, we will have the right to defend ourselves.” The Taliban did not immediately comment.