 Pakistan will free 17 of its nationals who have been in detention since their repatriation from the US Guantanamo Bay detention centre nearly one year ago, officials said on Wednesday.
| "They've suffered enough..." |
After their release next week the government also intends to free some 210 Pakistanis from jails in the central Punjab province who were returned from Afghanistan in batches last year, said the officials. "We have decided to release all these prisoners after securing surety bonds on good behaviour from their families," said Religious Affairs Adviser Tahir Ashrafi, adding, "Surety bonds are being furnished to make sure that these people would not be involved in any violence in the country."
| I feel so much more secure now. I'm still trying to figure out why the Religious Affairs Advisor's in on it, since as we've been told many times terrorism has nothing to do with Islam... |
Hundreds of Pakistanis were arrested in Afghanistan after the collapse of Taliban regime and nearly 600 have returned home since 2003. The US has also released the bulk of some 60 Pakistanis who were kept as "enemy combatants". |