CAIRO, September 5. /TASS/. The Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) that seized power in Afghanistan has turned down a proposal on possible cessation of fire in the Panjshir province, which was advanced by resistance leader Ahmad Massoud, Al Jazeera reported on Sunday.

"We have nothing to speak about with Ahmad Massoud after he turned down our peace proposal," the television channel quoted a Taliban spokesman.

Earlier on Sunday, Massoud wrote on his Facebook account that the National Resistance Front (NRF) units are ready to cease fire in Panjshir if the Taliban withdraw its troops from the region.

Earlier, a group of religious leaders came out with an initiative of peace talks between the Taliban and the NRF.

After the Biden administration announced the end of its US military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces. On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country. Vice President Amrullah Saleh said that under the constitution, he becomes "the caretaker president" in the absence of the president and called for armed resistance against the Taliban.

The northern province of Panjshir is the only pocket of resistance to the Taliban. It is led by Ahmad Massoud, a son of Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001), a once influential leader of Afghanistan’s Tajik community who fought against the Taliban back in the 1990s.