Contact between the Taliban and the government in Afghanistan is intensifying, a senior Afghan official has told the BBC.

Waheed Omar, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, said there was a willingness within some levels of the Taliban to find a way of seeking peace.

But he said the contact did not amount to negotiations to end the conflict.

The Taliban, which has always insisted foreign troops must leave the country, denied such talks were taking place.

Mr Omar said contact had intensified since a "peace jirga" in June, where Afghan tribal leaders endorsed Mr Karzai's plans to offer an amnesty and employment incentives to militants to persuade them to give up arms.

He said there had been "signs and signals" and attempts by the Taliban to contact the Afghan government, sometimes through intermediaries.