At least three rockets landed near the Afghan Presidential Palace in Kabul on Tuesday morning during Eid prayers where almost all senior Afghan political leaders, including President Ashraf Ghani, former president Hamid Karzai, and chief peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah was present. 

Despite the sound of three explosions--footage of which was aired live on national television networks -  Afghan leaders remained unmoved and the prayer continued, drawing praise from common Afghans for showing remarkable courage and fortitude. 

However, not everyone is pleased by the incident, with some people calling the handling of the situation “irresponsible.” 

Jumakhan Rahyab, a researcher, tweeted, “The resistance of those who appeared in the ceremony was commendable, but is more irresponsible as well. One rocket in the middle could wipe them all out in seconds. The vacuum would have only left chaos and total collapse, nothing more.” 

Mirwais Stanekzai, the spokesperson of the Interior Ministry, confirmed that three rockets landed near the palace, reported TOLOnews. 

Soon after the prayers, Ghani, in a speech, tore into the Taliban, saying the recent deeds showed the insurgent group had “no will for peace”. He added the government will make decisions based on these observations. 

In the speech, he said that the government had prepared a two-front security strategy in the last week, including setting the priorities right for the security and defense forces. 

“Afghanistan’s security and defense forces have made many sacrifices in the last 20 years, especially in the last three months, to defend this soil and honor of this homeland, sincerely,” Ghani was quoted as saying by TOLOnews.

He said the government will take around three to six months to turn the current situation around. In the last two months, amid the foreign troops’ withdrawal, the Taliban stunned the world as well as the Afghan government when it captured over 120 districts in what was described as a lightning offensive in the country’s northern part. 

(SAM)