In control of 85% Afghanistan, Taliban 'discussing' ceasefire: Report

Taliban officials in Moscow to assure regional powers

Taliban officials said on Friday the Sunni Muslim insurgent group had taken control of 85 per cent of territory in Afghanistan, and international concern mounted over problems getting medicines and supplies into the country.

According to Russian news agencies, the Taliban was discussing a possible ceasefire with the Afghan government and would halt its offensive if talks in Doha are successful. Three visiting Taliban officials are currently visiting Moscow.

Afghan government officials, on the other hand, dismissed the Taliban’s assertion of controlling most of the country as part of a propaganda campaign, even as foreign forces, including the US, sped up their withdrawal after almost 20 years of fighting. 

America’s military mission in Afghanistan would end on August 31, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday, saying the US did not go to the war-torn country to “nation-build”. He said no amount of sustained American military presence in Afghanistan could resolve the country’s own intractable problems.

Local Afghan officials said Taliban fighters, emboldened by the withdrawal, had captured an important district in Herat province, home to tens of thousands of minority Shia Hazaras. Torghundi, on the border with Turkmenistan, had also been captured by the Taliban overnight.

Hundreds of Afghan security personnel and refugees continued to flee across the border into Iran and Tajikistan, causing concern in Moscow and other foreign capitals that radical Islamists could infiltrate Central Asia.

The three Taliban officials sought to address those concerns during their  visit to Moscow. “We will take all measures so that Islamic State will not operate on Afghan territory... and our territory will never be used against our neighbours,” Taliban official Shahabuddin Delawar told a news conference.

Pakistan says situation fast deteriorating

Addressing the Senate’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf expressed concern over the fast deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and hinted that Pakistan won’t be able to tackle the influx of more refugees. They urged all parties to agree on a power sharing formula to avert a civil war.

As fighting continued, a World Health Organization official said health workers were struggling to get medicines and supplies into Afghanistan, and that some staff had fled after facilities came under attack.