The Taliban has surrounded the only remaining province resisting its rule, a senior leader of the group said on Wednesday, calling on the anti-Taliban fighters to negotiate a settlement with the group. 

Panjshir is the only province among Afghanistan's 34 provinces that has remained out of the Taliban's control since the fall of major cities including the capital Kabul.

In a recorded speech addressed to Afghans in Panjshir, senior Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaqi called on the rebels to put down their weapons.

Since Monday, there are reports of skirmishes between the Taliban forces and anti-Taliban fighters in areas bordering Panjshir valley.

Ahmad Masoud, the son of late anti-Taliban resistance leader Ahmad Shah Masoud, who is leading an anti-Taliban resistance in Panjshir, has reportedly said he was open to peaceful talks with the Taliban but his forces were ready to fight if it did not materialize.

Taliban forces are making preparations around the four sides of the Panjshir valley, and there is no reason to fight, Muttaqi said, adding that the anti-Taliban forces should keep in mind that it had not been possible to defeat the Taliban even with the support of NATO and U.S. forces.

"But we are still trying to ensure that there is no war and that the issue in Panjshir is resolved calmly and peacefully," he said.

According to media reports, the Taliban is expected to reveal its government appointees on September 3.

Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada could become the head of the new Afghan government, Afghanistan's TOLOnews TV channel reported on Wednesday, citing Anamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban's cultural commission.

"The consultations on forming the government are almost completed; the necessary discussions on the cabinet makeup have been conducted. Undeniably, leader Akhundzada will be in the government, and he will lead it," he said. 

Samangani did not clarify whether there will be a prime minister.