A top Taleban commander and dozens of his men have surrendered to the Afghan government as part of an arms-for-amnesty scheme, a military official said yesterday. Mulla Abdul Khaliq, locally-known as Haji Malam, and 40 of his guerrillas Monday surrendered to Afghanistan's military forces in south-central Uruzgan province, Muslim Hamed, the military commander of southern region told AFP. "He was a big Taleban regional commander. His surrender will help in security in the region," the general said. He said Khaliq was organizing most of the anti-government insurgencies in the Uruzgan area where the remnants of the Taleban have been frequently attacking government targets and US-led troops since their regime was toppled by a US invasion in late 2001. "Yes, he was involved in the anti-government and anti-coalition activities in the past," Hamed said. "His surrender is a great success for the government," he added. The general said that the surrendered men turned in 64 AK-47 rifles and several rocket launchers, heavy machineguns and ammunitions.Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered an olive branch to rank-and-file Taleban fighters last year and said all but a hardcore of 150 militants wanted for human rights violations would be able to rejoin the political process. On April 28, 17 members of the Hizb-e-Islami militant group laid down their arms and surrendered to Afghan authorities in the southeastern Khost province. The Hizb-e-Islami is led by former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar who is on the United States' most wanted list of terror suspects. His Islamic conservative group is allied with the Taleban militants. On Monday night, in a pair of rare television interviews the Taleban's former Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Mutawkil called for peace talks between the ousted Islamic regime and Karzai's government.