THE Taliban militia, fighting to control Afghanistan, have recaptured a key northern air base and are pushing further north against ousted government troops, journalists arriving from the area said yesterday.
Ex government soldiers loyal to the military leader, Gen Ahmad Shah Masood, took control of the air base on Tuesday, which lies 50km north of Kabul, but sporadic fighting continued in villages to the south.
The recapture of the base, and the push north to within 5km of the provincial capital Charikhar, are part of a massive Taliban counter offensive against Gen Masood's forces, the sources said.
When journalists left Kabul from the eastern suburbs to take the new road through the desert to Bagram, they were stopped at a roadblock manned by the Taliban just short of the air base, and turned back to the capital.
Military sources here say that forces loyal to Gen Masood and the ousted president, Mr Burhanuddin Rabbani, have found it difficult to halt the fresh offensive by Taliban reinforcements flown into Kabul over the last few days.
The Taliban overran Kabul on September 27th and have been fighting forces loyal to the ousted government north of Kabul since.
The Taliban have also opened an offensive against Gen Masood's forces at Charikar, 65km north of Kabul, witnesses said.
Taliban jets apparently also bombed Gen Masood's Jabul Seraj headquarters north of Charikar, according to reports reaching Kabul. Bombs exploded on hills north of the bazaar but no casualties were reported.
If the Taliban are successful in capturing Charikar they will surely advance on Gen Masood's frontline base of Jabul Seraj just 14km up the road, analysts said.
This will create an interesting situation because a sizeable armour backed force of Gen Dostam has reportedly been in Jabul Seraj for the past two days.
The Taliban clearly have no wish to tangle with Gen Dostam's battle hardened Uzbeks, who were the main military support of the former Afghan communist regime under Mr Najibullah.
Pakistan yesterday tabled a motion at the UN calling for an immediate ceasefire by all warring parties in Afghanistan and an embargo on arms supplies in a bid to end the civil war there.
A foreign office spokesman said the proposals were contained in a resolution Pakistan tabled at the Security Council which opened a debate on Afghanistan on Wednesday.
The resolution, which followed shuttle diplomacy by Pakistan's Interior Minister, Mr Naseerullah Babar, urges all parties to observe a ceasefire and support UN efforts to bring peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.
It calls for an end to foreign interference in Afghanistan and a ban on the shipment of arms to rival factions. It also proposes a "monitoring mechanism" to implement the ceasefire and the arms embargo.
The spokesman rejected charges by the former Afghan government that Islamabad was supporting the Taliban.
Mr Babar visited the Taliban headquarters in south western Kandahar on Tuesday and convinced its leader, Mullah Omar, to enter into negotiations.
He had talks with Gen Dostam on Wednesday, the spokesman said. The talks in Mazar-i-Sharif were held in a "cordial atmosphere" and Gen Dostam agreed to dispatch a three member team to Kandahar for further talks.
On Wednesday the ousted government offered an immediate ceasefire if the Taliban evacuate Kabul and agree to talks on a political settlement.