NICK SCHIFRIN: For months,
American diplomats have
been negotiating with
the Taliban leaders

to find a way to end
the war in Afghanistan.

American officials were hoping
the Taliban would announce this
week a suspension of fighting.

But the details of such an
agreement, how long would it
last, how much area would it

cover, remain to be worked out.

Meanwhile, the U.S.' longest
war grinds on with attacks
every day by both the U.S. and

the Taliban.

What is life like for
Afghans who live in territory
controlled by the Taliban?

Special correspondent Jane
Ferguson traveled to Wardak
province for a rare look at life

behind Taliban lines.

JANE FERGUSON: Efforts to end
America's longest war are once
again ramping up. This time,

the U.S. is pushing for a
cease-fire before signing
a deal with the Taliban.

That crucial gesture could be
agreed to at any moment. In
Taliban-controlled areas like

this, a cease-fire, however
long it lasts, could
change the lives of many.

Little Agha Waheed tells
me his favorite subjects.
He doesn't know his age,
but he knows he loves

school. Nearly half the
population of Afghanistan
is under 15 years old,
and as long as the

war continues, this will be the
next generation of fighters.

Excited shouts fill the air,
as dozens of little boys arrive
for class. It's late afternoon,

but there are so many children
living in this area and so few
schools, they learn in shifts.

These kids have only ever
known a life in wartime. Their
home in Wardak province is

just 30 miles outside the
capital, Kabul, but it's firmly
in Taliban control. Fighters

living among them are
a normal part of life.

A real peace deal in Afghanistan
would give these boys a chance
at living peaceful lives.

While the Taliban rules this
region with the gun, money for
the very few public services

still comes from Kabul.

Schools in Taliban areas
are still technically
state schools. They are
funded by the government,

and the people who work
in them are technically
government workers. It's
simply that the areas

around them and the communities
that these kids come from
are dominated by the Taliban.

This is one of the most violent
parts of the country. I traveled
here to Wardak province,

sneaking through Afghan army
checkpoints dressed as a local
Afghan woman, to see what life

is like for people living
under the Taliban and
close to the fighting.

The insurgent group agreed
to allow us this rare access,
yet they keep a watchful eye

and escort us everywhere.

MUJIB RAHMAN, Teacher (through
translator): Sometimes, the
boys join the Taliban because

of what they go through in the
situation here. It affects them
inside, when their relatives

were killed.

JANE FERGUSON: Mujib Rahman is
a teacher here. He says life
on the front line of this war

has taken a terrible toll on
the children. It's the kind
of stress even an adult would

struggle with.

But despite all the
hardship, these boys
dream of a better life.

MUJIB RAHMAN (through
translator): I am hopeful
that, in the future,
they will have access

to more education and they
will get to go to college.

JANE FERGUSON: People in these
areas are surviving between
two violent sides in this war.

His colleague, Esmatullah Omari,
told us that, when government
soldiers come to raid nearby

villages, they enter the
school and use it as a base.

ESMATULLAH OMARI, Teacher
(through translator):
Whenever the security
forces come, they break

the doors and come in here
and take our notebooks
and stationary. Can
you tell the security

forces not to come
to our school?

JANE FERGUSON: There are no
girls at this school, and one
person, who asked not to be

named, told us the Taliban
banned girls from attending.

We asked the commander in
the area about Taliban policy
on schooling for girls.

MAN (through translator): We
have education for girls and
boys in separate schools. We

have created an educational
atmosphere for them in our
areas. They are enjoying their

education.

JANE FERGUSON: Yet, despite his
assurances, in a nearby village,
we found one small religious

school with only three
little girls inside.
They were terrified when
they saw the Taliban

gunmen with us.

Getting an education
can sometimes seem like
a luxury for an entire
generation of children

just trying to survive this
war. The United Nations says
this is the most deadly war in

the world today and, in a
report released earlier this
month, said nine children are

killed or maimed every day.

It's an increase over previous
years, mainly due to suicide
bombings by the Taliban and

fighting between the group and
Afghan and American forces.

Taliban land mines blow
up civilians travelling
by road, and American
airstrikes also claim

many lives here. This area is
constantly under surveillance,
being watched from the sky.

We are not going to stay very
much longer where we are,
because we have attracted a

bit of a crowd of people. The
-- and we can hear surveillance,
some sort of surveillance

aircraft above us.

We soon spotted several
helicopters flying overhead.

A peace deal has the
potential to change everything
for these people, but
would only be the first

step in a long, difficult
road to a lasting
peace in Afghanistan.

The next step, getting the
Taliban to agree to share power
and put down their weapons,

will be harder than announcing
the pullout of American troops.

These Taliban commanders foresee
no compromise on the horizon.

MAN (through translator):
Our struggle will continue
until either America
ends its occupation

of Afghanistan or judgment day.

JANE FERGUSON: If the Americans
leave, and there is peace in
Afghanistan, would you still

consider them your enemy?

MAN (through translator): Yes,
of course. The infidels are
our enemy until the day of

judgment. We will
continue to fight them.

JANE FERGUSON: Navigating
an end to this war
is among America's
greatest foreign policy

challenges today.

For children like Agha, it would
mean a chance at a different
life, a life the generation

before him has only dreamed of.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jane
Ferguson in Wardak, Afghanistan.