In a message released on Saturday in honor of the Eid al-Adha holiday, Maulvi Haibatullah Akhunzadah says the group remains committed to “Islamic goals,” the sovereignty of Afghanistan and ending the war.

The leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban said on Saturday there will be no peace in Afghanistan as long as the foreign “occupation” continues, reiterating the group’s position that the 17-year war can only be brought to an end through direct talks with the United States.

In a message released in honour of the Eid al-Adha holiday, Maulvi Haibatullah Akhunzadah said the group remains committed to “Islamic goals”, the sovereignty of Afghanistan and ending the war.

Ghazni violence

The Taliban has had a major resurgence in recent years, seizing districts across the country and regularly carrying out large-scale attacks. Earlier this month, it launched a major assault on the city of Ghazni, just 120 km from the capital, Kabul. The battle killed at least 100 members of the Afghan security forces and 35 civilians, according to Afghan officials.

The Taliban sent a delegation to Uzbekistan to meet with senior officials earlier this month, and says it recently met with a senior U.S. diplomat in Qatar for what it called “preliminary talks”. The U.S. neither confirmed nor denied the meeting.

Earlier this week, the Taliban’s top political official, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, led a delegation to Indonesia, where he met Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi as well as Jusuf Kalla, Indonesia’s Deputy President, according to a statement the Taliban sent to The Associated Press.

The Taliban has refused to enter into talks with the Afghan government, which it views as a U.S. puppet, saying it will only negotiate the end of the war directly with Washington.