Two former Taliban leaders joined a reconciliation drive that American commanders hope will undermine a three-year-old insurgency in Afghanistan, an official said on Thursday. Mulla Muhammad Nazim and Mulla Mulla Akhtar Muhammad, one-time provincial officials, returned from Pakistan on Wednesday, Muhammad Wali, spokesman for Helmand provincial government, said. Both swore allegiance to Afghanistan's new constitution at a ceremony in Laskhar Gah, the Helmand capital, and were allowed to return to their homes, Wali said. "This will give more Taliban the confidence to take advantage of the government's offer," Wali said in a telephone interview. That offer is vague: the government says that former Taliban fighters are free to return to their homes except for an undisclosed list of Taliban leaders, including fugitive supreme leader Mulla Muhammad Omar and those accused of atrocities. Afghan and American officials insist that many ex-Taliban fighters have expressed interest in laying down their arms and returning to Afghanistan in return for freedom from prosecution, though few have come forward publicly.