Afghan and international forces are reported to be planning for a major military assault against the Taliban in Kunduz, a northern province, along the lines of Operation Moshtarak under way in Helmand.

Nevertheless, the joint forces, in an effort to avoid further conflict, have asked Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, a former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, to talk to the Taliban with the aim of convincing the group to lay down its arms.

Zaeef, however, says there are a lot of "obstacles" in the path of peace.

They include the removal of Taliban members from UN blacklists, which includes Zaeef, and UN recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate political group.

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Kabul.