In exchange for 7,000 prisoners Taliban offer 3-month ceasefire

KABUL: The Taliban have offered a three-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of their 7,000 prisoners, an Afghan government negotiator said Thursday, as Pakistan confirmed that the Taliban had control of a key border crossing.

“It is a big demand,” said Nader Nadery, a key member of the government team involved in peace talks with the Taliban, adding that the Taliban had also demanded removal of their leaders’ names from a United Nations blacklist.

It was not immediately clear how the government would react to the ceasefire offer, or how new it was, and it comes as the United States accelerates the pace of troop withdrawal due to be finished by August 31.

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

Nadery’s revelation came as Pakistan security forces used tear gas Thursday to disperse hundreds of people who tried to force their way across the border from Chaman to Spin Boldak in Afghanistan.

On Thursday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed that the border crossing was in the hands of the Taliban.

“They have taken control of Spin Boldak border crossing,” said ministry spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, a day after the Taliban seized the town.

The border was closed on Wednesday by Pakistan after the Taliban seized Spin Boldak and raised their flags.

“An unruly mob of about 400 people tried to cross the gate forcefully. They threw stones, which forced us to use tear gas,” said a security official on the Pakistan side.

He said around 1,500 people had gathered at the border on Wednesday waiting to cross.

Jumadad Khan, a senior government official in Chaman, said the situation was now “under control”.

An Afghan Taliban source told AFP that hundreds of people had also gathered on the Afghan side, hoping to travel in the other direction.

“We are talking to the Pakistani authorities. A formal meeting to open the border is scheduled for today, and hopefully, it will open in a day or two,” he said.

Meanwhile, Washington announced Wednesday that thousands of interpreters who aided the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan will be evacuated beginning in late July. Many fear retaliation by the Taliban. There are an estimated 18,000 people — interpreters, translators, and others who worked with US forces — who would qualify for evacuation. With their families, it could potentially take the total number of evacuees to 80,000 or more.

“These are courageous individuals. We want to make sure we recognise the value of the role they played,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

Border guards Wednesday said 347 refugees from Afghanistan had crossed into Tajikistan over two days, fleeing sweeping gains by the Taliban as foreign forces withdraw.

State information agency Khovar, citing a border guard report, said the refugees had “fled from the Taliban to save their lives,” adding that two babies died during the border crossing.

The militants in recent weeks have brought huge swathes of the country under their control as foreign troops draw down, including Afghanistan’s main Shir Khan Bandar border crossing with Tajikistan.