KABUL: The Taliban have offered a three-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of thousands of insurgent prisoners, a top Afghan government negotiator said on Thursday.

Nader Nadery, the spokesman for the government’s negotiating team in Doha where peace talks with the Taliban have been stalled for months, said it was a “big demand”.

“The Taliban have offered a plan for a three-month ceasefire, but in exchange they have asked for the release of 7,000 of their prisoners and the removal of their leaders from the UN blacklist,” he told reporters in Kabul.

A spokesman for the Taliban said he was only aware of the suggestion of a ceasefire over the forthcoming Eidul Azha holiday.

The Taliban are waging a relentless campaign across Afghanistan with the United States and Nato troops almost all but gone from the country, leaving Afghan forces facing crisis.

Muska Dastageer, a lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, said any Taliban ceasefire offer was likely an attempt by them to consolidate the positions they have gained so swiftly in recent weeks.

“A ceasefire now would effectively prohibit (Afghan forces) from retaking the crucial border points which Taliban have captured recently,” she tweeted.

“I think the timing of this ceasefire offer has more to do with their wish to consolidate power over these areas.” Last year, the government released 5,000 Taliban prisoners as part of an exchange with the Kabul government that helped launch peace talks in Qatar.

The negotiations have so far failed to reach any political settlement, and the latest offensives suggest the Taliban are now set on a military victory.

Limited ceasefire

Government officials in a western Afghan province said on Thursday they had negotiated “an indefinite ceasefire” with the Taliban to prevent further attacks on the capital of the province.

The move came after fighters from the Islamist group secured complete control over all the districts in Badghis province, reflecting wider gains by the Taliban over territory and infrastructure in recent weeks.

“Ten tribal elders had taken the responsibility of ceasefire, so they first talked to the Taliban, and then talked to the local government and both sides reached a ceasefire,” the provincial governor, Husamuddin Shams, said.

The Taliban reached an agreement with the tribal elders to move to the outskirts of Qala-e-Naw, the capital of Badghis, Shams said.

A spokesman for the Taliban denied they had agreed to a ceasefire but said they had left the city to avoid civilian casualties. “Qala-e-Naw is the only city in Afghanistan where the Taliban announced a ceasefire,” said Abdul Aziz Bek, the head of the provincial council in Badghis. Afghan officials in the capital, Kabul, were not available to comment.

The Taliban have captured scores of districts across the rugged countryside, as well as key border crossings with neighbouring countries, choking off revenues much needed by Kabul while also filling their own coffers.

On Wednesday, they captured the border crossing of Spin Boldak along the frontier with Pakistan, raising their flag above the town.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2021