Taliban, Northern Alliance agree on peace

KABUL: In a major development in war-torn Afghanistan, the Taliban and Northern Alliance Thursday agreed to refrain from attacks against each other, Geo News reported, quoting sources.

After holding successful dialogue, the Taliban and Northern Alliance have decided that they will not attack each other, well-informed sources told the Geo News. Dialogues between the two sides took place over the last two days at the Charikar area of the Parwan province.

The peace agreement will be announced during a press conference by the Taliban and Northern Alliance leaders, the sources added. The details of a peace agreement were being finalised by the two sides, the sources added.

Both sides have said they want to resolve the standoff through talks. Panjshir is a narrow valley deep in the Hindu Kush mountains, with its southern tip around 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of the capital Kabul.

The valley has limited entry points and its geography offers a natural military advantage — defending units can use high positions to effectively target attacking forces. It also has immense symbolic value in Afghanistan as the area that has resisted occupation by invaders for more than a century.