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Afghanistan frees 87 Pak prisoners
who allegedly fought for Taliban

Afghanistan on Tuesday freed 87 Pakistani prisoners who allegedly fought for the deposed Taliban regime.

They were, however, detained for questioning by authorities when they entered Pakistan.

The prisoners, released under a deal negotiated by the United Arab Emirates and supervised by the International Committee of the Red Cross, were handed over to the Pakistani embassy in Kabul.

They were taken in buses to Torkham on the Pak-Afghan border, officials said. On crossing the border, they were taken into custody by Pakistani authorities, who want to question them on their alleged ties with the Taliban.

"They have also violated the law by illegally crossing into Afghanistan," an official said.

This is the second group of Pakistani prisoners freed by Afghanistan this month, and the largest yet. So far, 400 prisoners have been released. Those released earlier had also been detained when they entered Pakistan.

Several thousand Pakistanis crossed into Afghanistan last year to help the Taliban fight an US-led attack on the country. They were taken prisoners by the victorious Northern Alliance after the fall of the Taliban.

PTI

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