Afghan Opposition Leader Ready for Conditional Peace Talks with Taliban

ISLAMABAD - The commander of an armed opposition group in Afghanistan said Sunday he welcomed proposals from religious scholars for holding peace talks with the Taliban if they pull back their forces from his native northern Panjshir province.  

Ahmad Massoud made the offer through a post on his organization’s Facebook page on a day when Taliban forces claimed they had fought their way into the provincial capital, Bazarak, after seizing the rest of the province. Multiple sources also confirmed the killing of the NRF’s official spokesman, Fahim Dashty, along with Massoud’s cousin, General Abdul Wudood, during Sunday’s fighting.