(The Economic Times): Taliban do not want peace,” said Zainullah, who like many Afghans only goes by one name. “They are detonating landmines, roadside bombs, sticky bombs and launching rocket attacks.” The village is located in Maiwand district — the scene of a notorious British military defeat in the 19th century — in Kandahar province, where the insurgents have kept control in some rural areas despite 19 years of war. The insurgents are close to Zainullah’s makeshift base, where bar .. A walkie-talkie crackles as a police officer listens in on Taliban transmissions — he says the militants are discussing the unrecognised vehicles AFP is travelling in. After months of US cajoling and concessions, the Taliban finally agreed to start peace talks with the Afghan government in September, but the Islamist hardliners have only stepped up attacks in the weeks since. “Lots of our colleagues have been killed and many others wounded,” Zainullah said. The peace talks came after the Taliban and Washington signed a deal in February, with the US agreeing to withdraw all foreign forces in exchange for security guarantees and a Taliban promise to start talks. “Since the talks began, the fighting has intensified every day,” said Ahmad Ikhlas, a police commander with hearing damage from a recent Taliban truck bombing. “One of our colleagues died in the explosion a couple of weeks ago. After the blast, I became deaf.”