The leader of the Afghan resistance group waging an intense battle against the Taliban in the Panjshir Valley has said he is open to enter peace talks. Ahmad Massoud said he supported a plan, put forward by religious clerics, for a negotiated settlement, and called on the Taliban to end their offensive.
Earlier, reports suggested the Taliban had rapidly gained ground in Panjshir. The province, north of the capital Kabul, is the most prominent example of resistance to Taliban rule.
In a post on Facebook, Massoud said the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), which includes former Afghan security force members and local militias, would be prepared to stop fighting if the Taliban ceased their attacks, the BBC reported on Monday.
There was no immediate response from the Taliban.
The Islamist group took control of the rest of Afghanistan three weeks ago, taking power in Kabul on August 15 following the collapse of the Western-backed government.
Panjshir, a rugged mountain valley, is home to between 150,000 and 200,000 people. It was a centre of resistance when Afghanistan was under Soviet occupation in the 1980s and during the Taliban's previous period of rule, between 1996 and 2001.
The NRF said its spokesman Fahim Dashti and a commander, Gen Abdul Wudod Zara, had been killed in the conflict, while a prominent Taliban general and 13 bodyguards had also died.
Earlier, the Taliban said their forces were now in the provincial capital, Bazarak, where they inflicted "numerous casualties", though this was disputed by the NRF.
Meanwhile in Kabul, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths met Taliban leaders and urged them to protect all civilians, especially women, girls and minorities. He was pictured with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the founders of the Taliban movement.
A UN spokesman said the Taliban leaders had given a commitment to allow humanitarian access to all people in need and to guarantee freedom of movement for all humanitarian workers, both men and women.
According to the UN, 18 million Afghans, nearly half of the population, are in need of humanitarian assistance.
'My name is the guarantee of security in the country', PM Modi says in Karnataka
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that his name is the guarantee of security in the country, adding it was his primary duty to protect the citizens of the nation.
9 held for gang rape of minors in Meghalaya
Nine persons were arrested by the police in connection with the rape of minor girls in the South West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, officials said on Sunday.
Indian Coast Guard apprehends Pakistani boat with huge consignment of narcotics
In a major success, the Indian Coast Guard, following an overnight aerial-maritime joint operation with the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), on Sunday apprehended a Pakistan boat in the Arabian Sea, west of Gujarat's Porbandar, and seized a large haul of narcotics.
Decision to build Ram Mandir in Ayodhya should have been taken on next day of Independence, PM Modi says in K'taka
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the decision to build Ram Mandir in Ayodhya should have been taken the very next day after the country achieved Independence in 1947.
Rahul slams BJD-BJP in Odisha rally, says both in collusion to benefit few corporates
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, stepping up the party’s campaign in Odisha on Sunday lashed out at the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government and the opposition BJP while accusing them of having ‘married’ each other for personal gains and befooling the public.
PM Modi has already scored a century in first two phases of LS polls: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already scored a century of seats in the first two phases of Lok Sabha polls.
Govt extends shutdown of schools in Tripura till May 1, heat wave alert extends
In view of the intense heat wave, the Tripura government has announced an extension of shutdown of all government aided schools and privately managed schools till May 1 next.
Despite having a woman CM, females in West Bengal most unsafe: JP Nadda
BJP national president J. P. Nadda on Sunday launched a blistering attack on the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, saying that despite having a woman chief minister, females in the state are most unsafe.