Afghan Opposition Leader Ready for Conditional Peace Talks with Taliban
Voice of America
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.Journalists lay down their equipment as they protest the latest draft revision of the broadcasting law, which they consider a threat to press freedom, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on May 27, 2024. Journalists protest the latest draft revision of the broadcasting law, which they consider a threat to press freedom, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on May 27, 2024.
A Ukrainian serviceman carries a U.S. Stinger air defense missile launcher in a trench on the front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, May 28, 2024. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, right, sign bilateral agreements at the Sao Bento Palace, the premier's official residence, in Lisbon, May 28, 2024.
In this screen grab, Kenyan President William Ruto speaks in an exclusive interview with VOA Swahili Service reporter Hubbah Abdi in Washington on Friday, May 24, 2024. In this screen grab, Kenyan President William Ruto speaks in an exclusive interview with VOA Swahili Service reporter Hubbah Abdi in Washington on Friday, May 24, 2024.
A demonstrator argues with police officers during an opposition protest of the foreign influence bill at the Parliamentary building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 28, 2024. The Georgian parliament overrode a presidential veto of the measure, which has sparked wide protests. Demonstrators gather at the Parliamentary building during a protest against the foreign influence bill in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 28, 2024. The Georgian parliament overrode a presidential veto of the legislation.
Villagers move a rock as part of search efforts following a devastating landslide, in Yambali village, in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, May 27, 2024. (Juho Valta/UNDP Papua New Guinea via AP) Devastation caused by a landslide is seen in Yambali village, in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, May 27, 2024. (Juho Valta/UNDP Papua New Guinea via AP)
A vendor with an umbrella over his head throws water over the bananas on a hot summer day in Varanasi on May 27, 2024. Children run behind a truck spraying water along a street on a hot summer day in New Delhi on May 28, 2024. Roadside food vendor Atma Prakash Singh in New Delhi says standing on the hot road in the sizzling summer is a problem. (Anjana Pasricha/VOA) Ice cream vendor Jai Singh in New Delhi says he gets skin rashes due to the sizzling heat. (Anjana Pasricha/VOA) People buy air coolers from a roadside vendor on a hot summer afternoon in New Delhi on May 20, 2024, amid the ongoing heatwave.