Taliban offer three-month ceasefire in return for release of prisoners * Local Afghan leaders, Taliban agree on ceasefire in western province * Taliban ‘rampaged through town’ after seizing Pakistan border crossing July 16, 2021 An Afghan government negotiator on Thursday said the Taliban had offered a three-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of 7,000 insurgent prisoners, as the militant group continues a sweeping offensive across the country. “It is a big demand,” Nader Nadery said, adding that the insurgents have also demanded the removal of the Taliban’s leaders from a United Nations blacklist. A senior insurgent leader had said on Tuesday that the Taliban do not want to battle government forces inside Afghanistan’s cities and would rather see them surrender.