Afghanistan's Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak has called on the Taliban insurgency to agree to a ceasefire on the day of the presidential election, set for August 20.
Speaking at a news conference in Kabul on Sunday, Wardak said security forces will refrain from conducting operations against the Taliban on the election day and focus on providing security for the polls.
At 500 of the 7,000 possible voting stations, Afghan troops have not yet been deployed. These 500 voting stations are mainly in the southern areas of Afghanistan where Taliban forces have secured strongholds.
Wardak called on the Taliban to participate in the election, or at least to refrain from disturbing it.
Taliban insurgents have been intensifying their pressure ahead of the presidential election, culminating in a bomb attack on Saturday that killed or wounded nearly 100 civilians near the headquarters of the NATO-led
international troops in the Afghan capital.
最終更新：2009年08月17日 23:58
