Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned rocket attacks in Kabul close to presidential palace during Eid prayers and urged all parties to respond to the Afghan government’s ceasefire offer. The assault, which took place near the presidential palace and a mosque, came as President Ashraf Ghani was delivering a speech marking the first day of the Eidul Azha holiday, days after offering the Taliban a conditional three-month ceasefire. The Foreign Office condemned the attack and urged all parties to respond to Afghan government’s offer for a ceasefire. “Pakistan condemns rocket attacks on Kabul close to the presidential palace during Eid prayers and urges all parties to respond to the Afghan Government’s ceasefire offer,” Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal tweeted. Prime Minister Imran Khan also took to Twitter and issued a strong condemnation of the attack. “We stand with the Afghan government and the people in their efforts to eradicate terrorism,” the prime minister said according to his media office. The attackers captured a building behind the Eidgah Mosque in a central district of Kabul. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish confirmed that militants had taken over the building and fired several rockets. The mosque is located relatively near the presidential palace, where Ghani was speaking. The sound of a blast could be heard in the background as his speech was aired live on Facebook. On Sunday, Afghan President Ghani unveiled the government´s latest ceasefire gambit during an Independence Day address, saying security forces would observe the truce beginning this week — but only if the militants reciprocated. The truce offer was welcomed by the United States and NATO after nearly 17 years of war, but two senior Taliban commanders were said to have rejected the ceasefire offer. Published in Daily Times, August 22nd 2018.